Clannad
by IllusionaryWorld
Summary: When I saw her, I never knew I would actually go help her myself. She was an angel with no wings, but I was going to get those wings back for her. Tomoya's POV.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! ^-^**

**This, here, is my first Clannad story. This story is my version of Clannad, created from bits and pieces from my personal life experiences. There are elements that relate back to the series, but since it's different, the plot has a different approach to it. I try to keep the characters in the way they are, but I might had some times where they act a bit different. But, this is a story from Tomoya's POV, from his own gorgeous, blue eyes (haha). Anyway, this is the Prologue, a long one if I may add. I just wanted to give a bit of a background on the way I came from creating the rest of the story. I really hope you all like it and enjoy. ^-^**

**Note: The characters are all seniors in my own high school. I hope you guys won't mind.**

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**Prologue**

I'm not sure how or why it happened. I mean, I've seen her many times before. We even said "hi" to each other. But we were never close. I don't think we considered ourselves friends, just classmates.

Then, out of the blue, she was in a terrible car accident. Everyone was worried about her. Many were making "get well" packets to send. However, the strange thing that happened was that they all forgot about her after a few days and didn't even bothered to send the packets. What made me feel so awful was that her "so-called friends" were the first ones to forget. It actually made me sick. And even if me and her never actually made real conversation before, I couldn't help but to keep her in my mind. It wasn't like I loved her or anything, I just found it wrong the no one would think about her, so I nominated myself to do it if no one else would.

And it's kind of sad and satirical in a way, you know. My ex-girlfriend used to tell me how nice and kind the girl, Nagisa, was. My ex, Linda, used to always tell me she would never go hungry because Nagisa would always come to the rescue and give her a snack or two. Of course, I always knew Nagisa was a very nice girl. She would do anything to keep others happy. I would always smile and think to myself how great of a person she is. I had always wanted to thank her for all she had done for Linda and I, but I never found the appropriate time.

But then, I began to reconsider how much of a friend my ex was to Nagisa. I overheard my ex once talking to her friends about how she went hungry or that she was failing classes because Nagisa wasn't there to copy off from. I realized they were all taking advantage of her.

"Have you ever visited Nagisa in the hospital?" I asked Linda one day.

"Maybe one day, when I'm not busy," she said.

The next day, Linda went out with her friends to watch a movie.

That was enough to prove how much all of them really cherished Nagisa. They invited me to go along, but I lied to them that I had to go to work that day. I even lied to my manager at work that I had to stay for extra tutoring.

It might just be me, but I found it pretty awful: the idea of no one going to visit Nagisa. It was like they never knew her. So, instead of going to the movies or work that day, I decided to pay a good girl a visit.

Then, it just happened. One day became two, and a week became three. I added to my schedule to visit Nagisa every chance I got. I would cancel hang outs, keep my grades up, so I wouldn't get tutoring, and even make excuses to leave my job early. Nagisa needed someone who cared besides her family, and I was going to be that someone.

Sadly, the days that I did visit her, Nagisa would never open her eyes. The nurses would tell me she was restless and needed as much sleep as possible.

When I could, I would buy her flowers and place them next to her bed, hoping she would one day wake up and smell them. And that day did came.

A few days after I sent her a batch of sunflowers, Nagisa was strong enough to come back to school after a whole month of absence. And just like that, her "friends" all rushed up to her and stuck themselves to her like blood sucking leeches. Then Nagisa asked around, wondering who bought her sunflowers, but no one responded. So, when I found a chance, I whispered to her that I bought her the flowers.

*"Arigato gozaimasu," she whispered back, and I knew exactly what she said.

But, for some reason, I never told her I visited her for so many days in the hospital. Was I ashamed? Was I shy? I didn't know, but I decided to not tell her.

Then more days passed, and I still couldn't help but notice how Nagisa treated others with gentle care, almost like unconditional love. It was amazing how no one seemed to bother her, and she would do so much without waiting for a reward. She was like an angel with no wings.

What I also noticed was that there are a bunch of demons lurking around. They might not look like much but their true, evil forms pop out when you see them stabbing one another and, more cruelly to a sweet girl like Nagisa. I was never the type of guy who would get my self into situation I didn't belong, but this was a whole different matter. I was doing this to protect a girl.

So, one day, I asked Linda if I could eat with her friends, and, without second thought, she said yes. I decided to observe everything first hand at how these "friends" treated Nagisa, almost like being a spy for my own organization.

When we were all seated, Nagisa was no where to be found. I was going to walk away until Nagisa walked over and said she was busy with some school work. She looked around the crowded table, and I knew I took most of the space since I was a guy after all, and we are bigger than most girls. So I decided to scoot over and pushed the girl sitting on my side of the table, almost causing them to fall and made room for Nagisa. She smiles and sat down next to me.

And so observation time began, and it didn't start off unusual, just a bunch of girls gossiping about stuff I really shouldn't know about and messing with me since I was the only guy in the group. I just acted as my usual self but kept my eye on Nagisa without being too noticeable. She never said a word or maybe she did but no one heard her soft voice. I guess that was how she is, always listening and rarely speaking. Sometimes, I wonder what goes through her head.

Then, shit got real.

Nagisa calmly took out her lunch as if she didn't want anyone to notice and then...

BAM!

The other girls reached out for her lunch and took whatever they wanted. It was amazing in a sad way. Even my ex asked me to hand her something, but I refused. She grabbed a bag of chips herself, ignoring my angry face expression.

I was furious. Pissed, more like it.

Nagisa was left with only a tiny piece of her sandwich. She said nothing and ate in silence.

How could all these girls just grab her lunch like that? It was her lunch, and they didn't even ask. They just took it all up like it was already theirs. No wonder Linda never starved. What a bitch.

"So, is everyone going to my house today?" a girl asked.

Everyone either nodded or said yes expect Nagisa.

"Oh? Everyone's going to your house today?" Nagisa asked in her quiet voice. I could tell she was confused.

"Yeah. No one told you?" the girl said.

Nagisa shook her head. "It's okay."

Then the girls went back to gossiping. They didn't even apologized or asked Nagisa is she would join them. They clearly excluded her. I remembered looking over to Nagisa and saw the sadness in her eyes and smile. I don't know, but I grew a bit angry and sad of the depressing girl next to me and decided to leave the girls alone.

And that went on for days, I knew. I would sometimes hang around and examine everyone with the same result being the girls stealing Nagisa's lunch and leaving her with almost nothing. I knew Nagisa enough to knoe she wouldn't stand up for herself. Sometimes, I wanted to grab her and force her to speak. That day never came and might never come. However, the day that I spoke up did.

It was just like any other day, and the girls were all sitting down together, and I was leaning against a wall as I saw them eat. Then I saw Nagisa take out her lunch box, slowly opened it, and the girls all rushed in to grab whatever they could get. It was like they haven't eaten for days. That's when I lost it.

I remembered yelling at the girls, retrieving back the food they stole, gave it back to Nagisa, yelled some more, and broke up with Linda. That experience not only excluded me from getting anywhere near those girls but Nagisa as well. I guesses they were all paranoid to have Nagisa close to them because then I would pop out and scream at them. Not that it wasn't a bad idea...

But the wasn't the point. I was thinking that defending Nagisa was going to spark up something in the girls' minds and respect her, but I only made it worse. Nagisa wasn't in good terms with any of the girls from that day forth, and she became isolated from anyone else. It was back to step one.

Then, people began to say Nagisa was losing it.

They said they had seen her talking to herself or with an "imaginary friend". Most were saying it was due to the after effects of the care accident that was getting into her head. People were excluding her more and more and would call her "freak". I saw her once denying she was talking to someone else and was only thinking out loud.

In school, Nagisa never showed her emotional side. I knew she never dared to because, who would listen to her or even care? But I can't stop thinking that, when she gets home, she cries a lot. Just by thinking about that made me cry once and wished that at least one person would take the time to understand what a wonderful person Nagisa is. She was losing her mind. She was talking to people who don't even exist because she can't even talk to real people, damn it!

Well, that's all going to stop.

I won't let this keep on going.

I will be that someone who will give the angel her wings back.

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**So, how was it? I'm sorry it was long. Please review. I would really want your input on this story. Thank you.**

*Thank you very much


	2. Chapter 1

**Here's chapter 1. Remember, this is a different approach to Clannad with a way different plot, but I still hope it's still good. Enjoy the story! ^-^**

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**Ch. 1**

It was another typical day. Classes every hour or so, students learning or not, and teachers teaching. Nothing unusual. Just a normal school day.

It was lunch time now, and I sat by myself at a desk at the end of a hallway. I didn't felt like eating anything, so I took out my music player and started listening to music. The desk had three large wooden planks that surrounded it, making it seemed like a small shelter, so no one could see me or I could see them unless either one of us looked over. But I didn't want to be bothered, so I let the music become my lullaby.

"I-I won't do that! That's going too far!"

Since I only had one ear plug on, I heard a familiar voice.

"No matter what you do, I won't do that!"

I decided to take a peek over the desk and noticed a small girl sitting down at a chair beside the desk. It was Nagisa.

I decided to eavesdrop for a while since she didn't seem to notice me.

"No, Fuko. No, no, no."

She was talking to herself again or to her "imaginary friends." I felt awful that she ended up being like that. All because of those damn girls who stabbed her heart.

I turned off my music player and shoved it in my blazer's pocket. "Hey Nagisa. Talking to someone?" I butted in.

Nagisa jerked her head towards me. "O-oh...Okasaki...I didn't know you were there. And, um, I was just thinking out loud."

I sighed. It just made me feel bad seeing her all alone and talking to herself. So I decided to join her for at least a day since I knew she probably hated me for putting her on the spot a few days ago.

But when she saw me walking towards her, Nagisa stood up and walked up the stairs to the second floor.

"S-sorry, Okasaki. I have...things to do," she said.

I didn't believe her, though, so I followed her but stayed behind hidden. I hid under the first set of the staircase and leaned in closer enough to hear what she was saying.

"Okay, let's negotiate something. We can't go around and burn an entire school just because you want to get revenge on a person."

Burning a school? Revenge? I kinda grew a bit worried. I hoped Nagisa wasn't talking with demons.

"Well, is she did that to you, then maybe I can talk to her and try to get the reason why she did it."

Silence.

"But isn't that making you as worse as she is? Do you was to be a bully too?"

Silence.

"I-I don't want to harm anyone. Maybe I can just-"

"Oh look who's here. Little Miss Freak."

That was a new voice. Linda's voice.

"Were you talking to yourself again, freak?" Linda said.

"Oh um...I was thinking...out loud," Nagisa said.

Linda laughed. "You always say that. Seriously, you need to be transported to a mental hospital. You're completely insane."

Then I heard Nagisa shriek and a small thud. Something happened to her, so I decided to show myself.

"Hey," I said.

Linda jerked her head towards me, and Nagisa was on the floor, looking up to me.

"Nagisa, are you okay?" I asked, reaching out to her. She hesitated a bit, but she grabbed my hand, and I pulled her up.

"Arigato..." she whispered.

I smiled to her and before I could say anything, Linda stepped in.

"Hey Tomoya, can I talk to you for a while?" Linda said as she roughly took my arm and took me away, around a corner, leaving Nagisa behind.

"What do you want?" I asked as I pulled away from her grasp.

Linda instantly began flirting with me. "Well, you know, I was thinking of how last time you might not had been in a good mood and didn't know what you were saying, so I was thinking that you might reconsider me back as a girlfriend and-"

"No. I meant what I said last time," I said.

"But we were going so well, and I thought-"

"No means no, Linda."

"Look, at least tell me why you broke up with me."

"You were taking advantage of a nice girl. I don't do that. I don't want my girlfriend doing something like that either."

"Taking advantage of who?"

"Don't give me that bullshit! You know exactly who I'm talking about."

"No, seriously. I don't."

"You just pushed her."

Linda hesitated for a while. "Nagisa? Come on, don't you-"

"Don't I what? Not care for someone like her?"

"Exactly. I mean, she's a freak."

I looked at Linda with such hatred in my eyes. "Man, fuck you."

Linda was taken back, I knew. I never told her that before even if I was playing around.

"What did you just say to me?" Linda said, growling.

I huffed and walked away from her, pulling away when she grabbed me, making me almost hit her. But I managed to escape and walked towards Nagisa who was back to talking to herself.

"I'm glad you considered on rethinking over this. And please, no more violent approaches, okay?" Nagisa said.

She seemed relieved, pleased, satisfied. But it killed me to see her talking to someone who didn't exist. It made me sad. This girl who had so much to give was slowly losing her sanity all because people wouldn't accept her for who she is and decided that imaginary friends would replace real ones.

But that's all going to change.

"Hey Nagisa," I said, startling the girl.

"Oh hello," she said with a small smile.

I smiled back and placed a hand on her head. "Come on. let's go to class together."

I noticed her looking up to me with innocent, wonder eyes as if she just discovered something magical.

It made me happy.

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**End of chapter 1. How was it? What did you like about it? What didn't you liked about it. Please review and comment. I would really appreciate it. **


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter 2. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

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**Ch.2**

Ugh. Why does Writing have to be boring? Ninety nine percent of the students were half asleep with the only exception of Nagisa, being the top student and all. She was actually paying attention.

I decided to be with her and observe her behaivor. Back then, I never really bothered observing anyone but this time, it's different. I knew it Nagisa was different. I knew it before. But now, she's acting very strange, and I want to be the one to find out why.

During class, I would notice Nagisa turning towards the back row as is she was looking at someone or something. But no one from the back row would respond back everytime she turned around, yet she kept doing it. So I decided to find out.

**What's ****up?**I wrote her a note and elbowed her for a while to get her attention.

"Huh? What?" she whispered to me. I tapped on the note and pushed it in front of her. She got it and read it. Not long did I received it back:

**What do you mean?**

I didn't know whether to laugh because it was cute or to growl because she was clueless. So I wrote back:

**You know what I mean. Like "how are you?" Is that better?**

I went back to "paying attention" to the teacher. Then I received a small hit on the back of my head with a paper ball. I knew who threw it without even looking. Stupid Sunohara.

I received the note back saying:

**Oh. Well, I guess I'm fine. But why, all of a sudden, are you asking me this?**

Oh Nagisa. No playing innocent with me.

**You do know I know you're lying, right? I want to know exactly what's going on with you.**

I sent back the note. After a few seconds, I heard a small but alerting gasp.

"Yes Nagisa? Do you have a question?" the teacher said when she noticed Nagisa's gasp. I peeked over to Nagisa with interest.

"Huh? Oh no, . Sorry," Nagisa shyly said.

"Very well then," Nowak said and went back to teaching. I smirked to Nagisa but didn'te directly faced her.

Then I received the note back:

**If you really want to know, I can tell you during Flex Time.***

Well, that settled it then. I smirked once more, hoping Nagisa would see me and placed the note inside my blazer's pocket. Now, I'll just have to wait until class is over.

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**What did you guys think? I'm sorry, but this was one short chapter. But don't worry, there'll will be more. And, again, this story has elements that happened in my life and there's some things that maybe some people don't know of. Ms. Nowak is actually my English and Writing teacher. So, there's one real life element. But, I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll keep writing more for you all.**

***an hour at the end of the day that only seniors have to do whatever they want**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here goes Chapter 3! It's not short as chapter 2, so I hope it's still okay. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

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**Ch.3**

Yawn. How long is she going to keep me waiting? I sighed and leaned against the doorway. I tried not to get in the way of the students coming in and out. I looked towards Nagisa who was talking with Nowak about an assignment or whatever, and she seemed like she would talk to Nowak for quite a while.

"Hey crackhead!"

I get attacked by arms circling my neck. I easily pulled away because, not to boast, but I am stronger than this doofus.

"What do you want, Sunohara?" I asked, without looking at him.

"I threw you a ball earlier. Why didn't you respond?" he said.

"You don't expect me to throw you another ball while I was paying such close attention to class," I said with a sarcastic tone.

"You? Paying attention? Don't make me laugh!"

I only shrugged. I wasn't sure if he said anything else after that because I kinda drifted off to Lala Land for a while, but I did hear him say:

"Why are you just standing here?"

Almost immediately, I answered, "I'm waiting for someone."

"And who's that someone?" Sunohara asked.

I decided to play around with him, like always.

"Oh? You don't know? I got myself a girlfriend," I said, smirking.

Sunohara looked at me with shocked eyes, just as I expected.

"What?! Another one?! But how?! Wait!"

He grabbed me by the collar and pulls my face way too close to his.

"Tell me who it is! Or better yet, tell me how you got her! Please tell me! Please!"

I chuckled. "I just walked up to her, told her my feelings, and asked her out. She said yes and yeah."

Sunohara pushed me against the doorway pretty hard. "What?! That was it?!"

I nodded. "Pretty much. I can't believe you can't pull off something like that."

I knew Sunohara was going to go mentally insane. That poor boy. He never seemed to receive any girl of his own. I already gave up on love, though, but I shouldn't tell him yet. I wanna keep having my fun with him. He is my best friend after all.

"Oh! Okasaki, I didn't think you would actually wait for me."

I turned my focus over to Nagisa who walked over to me. I smiled to her but that smile faded away once I saw Sunohara eyeing Nagisa and me. I knew he was making Nagisa uncomfortable because he was making me uncomfortable.

Then Sunohara laughed. "You have to be kidding me, Okasaki! Don't tell me Nagisa was the one you were waiting for."

I sighed and held onto Nagisa's shoulder. I pulled her out of the doorway and whispered to her, "Wait for me in the lobby, okay?"

She nodded and walked away. I still heard Sunohara laughing behind my back, so I turned to him and said, "She wasn't the one, you know. She's actually going to take me to my girlfriend and to a bunch of other cute girls. But since you laughed at her, You ain't coming."

I noticed Sunohara's smiling face turned rather depressing. I smirked and walked away, knowing Sunohara was probably crying.

Once I arrived at the lobby, I searched around for Nagisa until I found her talking with a familiar guy. I stood a good distance away from them because I really didn't like the guy. Ichigo.

Right in that moment, I remembered that Ichigo had a huge crush on Nagisa ever since junior year. Psh! Yeah right. He only wants her when she's well and good. I never saw him visit Nagisa when she was in the hospital. That's not really love if you ask me. He's just one of those other people who want to take advantage of Nagisa. I just know it.

Nagisa then turned around and noticed me. I waved to her, and she smiled back. She went back to talking with Ichigo and pointed at me at some point, making Ichigo look at me. Even if her only looked at me for a second, I could feel anger in his eyes. I could careless.

Then Nagisa finished talking and walked over to me. I almost laughed when Ichigo waved at her, but she didn't seem to notice.

Nagisa looked up at me and smiled. "You ready?"

I looked down to her and smiled back. "Sure."

Nagisa lead me towards the exit, and I just had to smirk. I knew Ichigo was looking at me, so I had to take advantage of the situation. I'm running away with your girl, you bloody bastard. Ha!

After a few minuted of searching around for a private place, we ended up under the stairs of the second building of our school. Luckily, there were already chairs and a table there, so we didn't have to sit on the cold floor.

"I think this is a good place," Nagisa said as she pulled herself two chairs, one for herself and another next to her. I pulled a chair for me, knowing well enough that she didn't want sitting next to her. But I wondered what that other chair was for.

We sat in silence for a while. Nagisa was looking down, probably thinking of what to say, and I was just eyeing her and the empty chair next to her. That chair really bothered me for some reason.

The silence was expanding, and it was becoming really awkward. Was I supposed to start or what? But before I said anything, Nagisa jerked her head up to me.

"Okay. Let's get started then. Umm...sorry for the wait," she said.

"No problem. It's not like I have other things to do," I said.

I really didn't people. I wasn't being sarcastic.

"I still don't believe you're still here or even decided to come with me in the first place," she said.

I leaned against the back of my chair. "Of course. I want to know what's up with you, and you did told me you were going to tell me during Flex Time, so here I am."

"It's still very surprising. These days, almost no one wants to hear what I have to say anymore."

Is it just me or does it feel like I just met Nagisa? I've known her for a while but not actually knowing who she is or what her motives are. I'm having this strange feeling of discovering.

"Well, I'm not one of those no bodies. I'm actually interested in what you have to say," I said.

Nagisa looked at me with innocent eyes. "I guess I shouldn't really be surprised when it involves you. You've always seemed to watch out for others even a girl like me."

I wanted to tell her that half of what she said wasn't true at all. I didn't looked out for others. I could careless what others were doing. However, I did wanted to look out for someone like her. She's not just some girl.

"Nagisa," I stopped leaning back and leaned a bit forward. "I need you to tell me the truth. People out there are saying you're either talking to yourself or to someone invisible. Can you tell me what's the reason for it?"

Nagisa hesitated. I even hesitated myself. It was like the both of us were waiting for this moment.

Nagisa sighed. "Okay. I'll tell you."

I continued to look at her. Nagisa was just a normal girl, a very special, normal girl.

She sighed once more. "It's true. I can see someone who is invisible to others. I can.." She paused for a long time before continuing. "I can talk to the dead, Okasaki."

In this situation anyone can either laugh at how stupid the idea was, walk away, or stay behind and listen. For some reason, I was stuck between walking away and staying behind.

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**Okay, so I know many of you are thinking "why is Ichigo in here?" Well, let me just tell you that this is not a cross over. There are not going to be any Soul Reapers and such. I just needed another character to add to represent someone in my life and since the guy who is represented by Ichigo likes him, I decided to add him. But I promise you there is no Bleach stuff involved with this...yet...hehe. Jk. **

**Hope you guys liked it. Review and Comment, please. ^-^**


	5. Chapter 4

**I hope the whole Nagisa talking to dead people thing wasn't a bit too odd for people. I just wanted a way to introduce Fuko and I thought that would be a way. I know I said that most of what this story has is based on true experiences, but believe me when I say this, but I don't talk to dead people. Haha. No way.**

**Anyway, here's Chapter 4. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

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**Ch. 4**

"Okay. So let me get this straight. What you're telling me is that you can talk to the dead, right?" I said with my head hurting a bit.

"Yes. Oh, but, I can see them too, Okasaki," Nagisa said.

"Of course..."

Dear God. Having poor Nagisa explain to me multiple times about her having the ability to talk to the dead and none of it making any sense can really hurt a guy. But that was what I wanted, right? I was here, spending my free time, talking to a girl who needed someone to talk to.

"Okasaki..."

I looked up at Nagisa, "Yeah?"

She looked down at her hands. "You...you don't have to believe me. I know that everything I've told you sounds strange and false but...it isn't, and I wouldn't mind if you started seeing me like a lunatic."

This girl. A girl most people think is crazy. My definition of a crazy person is always being so obnoxious and wild. But Nagisa isn't like that. So I know to believe her.

"Don't say that, Nagisa. I believe you," I said.

Nagisa looked up to me, and I knew she was studying my face because I was studying hers.

"So, you wouldn't mind meeting a friend of mine? She's sitting next to me," she said.

So that was it. I knew that chair had something about it. Well, here goes nothing.

I leaned towards the empty chair, trying to see maybe a silhouette of a person or something.

"I wouldn't mind meeting someone," I said.

Nagisa smiled. " Her name is Fuko."

I waved to an empty chair. "Hey there, Fuko. I'm Tomoya Okasaki. Nice to meet you."

Nagisa giggled. " She said hi back."

Even though I might look like some freaking lunatic, I was happy. Even if Fuko didn't existed, I was still happy. It has been a long time since I heard Nagisa giggle. I never knew it before but her giggle was actually kinda cute.

"Oh really? I didn't know you were such a talented girl, Fuko," Nagisa said to the empty chair.

It seemed a bit odd having to be here with a girl who talked to a ghost and not being able to see it. But I made an oath to believe Nagisa.

"So what did Fuko say?" I asked.

"She said that instead of thinking of revenge, she's going to focus on making these cute star-shaped wood sculptures," Nagisa said. Then she smiled. " I'm just so glad that I have someone who believe in what I have to say. I just hope you're not here to report me about everything I'm doing."

I shook my head. "Oh no. Trust me, Nagisa. I'm not. I just want to, you know..."

Okay?: Why did I stop there? What was I going to say? Friends? Of course. But why didn't I say it?

Then the bell rang. School was over. Was it just me or did this period passed by so fast?

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I walked with Nagisa to the gate, not caring the side conversations made by others who were talking about us.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Okasaki, for walking with me to the gate. You didn't really have to," Nagisa said.

"But I wanted to. Besides, I walk out through here too either way," I said.

Nagisa smiled. " You know what's funny?"

"Hm?"

"You're being nice to me, and we're actually talking. Not just saying hello but actually having conversation."

I smiled. "You're right." I placed a hand on Nagisa's head. " You have no idea what happens when you speak out your mind."

"You're right, Okasaki. But I never imagined we would ever talk this much," she said.

"Strange, isn't it?"

"Very. Well, I guess I have to go now. I don't want my parents to think I got lost or anything."

I chuckled. " I guess not. I won't keep you then. I'll see you tomorrow."

Nagisa hesitated for a while. "Okay. See you tomorrow."

We both waved to each other, and Nagisa walked off. I stayed behind and watched the back of her head filled with reddish-brown hair that swayed back and forth.

"Nagisa! Nagisa, wait!"

Suddenly, a blur of orange passed by me. I broke my focus and noticed that it was Ichigo running over to Nagisa. For some reason, I felt really bothered. I saw the both of them talking for a while, but I knew what was being said. I didn't know why, but my legs carried me towards the two and my mouth oepened up, letting the words out:

"Come on, Nagisa. Let's go home together."

I pulled Nagisa by the shoulder. She hesitated for a bit but followed me afterward. I could feel Ichigo's glare behind my back, but I felt relieved without caring about that.

Nagisa and I didn't talk during our walk, well not to each other that is. She was talking to Fuko along the way. Heck, I didn't even know myself where I was going. I was supposedly walking Nagisa home, but I didn't know where she lived.

"This is far enough, Okasaki," Nagisa said.

We reached an intersection of two streets. It was getting dark outside, and I knew I had to be heading home too.

"Are you sure this is okay?" I asked.

"Yes. I don't want you to walk too much to your house."

"To be honest, my house isn't too far from here, so there's no problem with me taking you directly to your house."

"It's okay, really. Arigato, Okasaki."

I rubbed the back of my head. "No problem."

Nagisa smiled and began walking away. I started to head my way too until Nagisa called out to me.

"If you ever want to go to my house some day, there's a house around this corner with a small white fence around it. It's the only house with a fence. Maybe, if you feel like it, you can come and visit me some day."

"Sure thing," I said.

Then we parted.

* * *

**So, how was it? Good or eh? Please review and comment. I would love your input on this. Thank you. ^-^**


	6. Chapter 5

**Here's Chapter 5! Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch.5**

Sometimes I ask myself, why do people go to school? To learn or to sleep? Because if the reason was to learn, I doubt that is what this school was aiming for. Or maybe it was just the subjects being taught. If there were more gym classes and less classes where we have to read books we don't want to, then we would all be passing with straight A's.

"Psst! Okasaki! Psst!"

I yawned and looked towards a familiar blond guy sitting next to me. "What do you want, Sunohara?"

"I want you to come with me during lunch," he said.

I only sighed and turned back to my window. I wonder what he wants to show me. Oh wait. It's Sunohara. What else who he show me but...

Oh, of course. A girl.

After all our morning classes, lunch was here, and I followed Sunohara to an empty classroom where there was a lonely, girl present. A very beautiful girl with long, grey hair and blue eyes.

"Had me waiting, boy," the girl said.

Sunohara rubbed his nose and smiled. "Sorry about that, sweet cheeks. I had to be dragging this loser over here."

"Looks who's talking," I said.

The girl shook her head, making her long hair sway. "Okay whatever. So what do you want from me?"

"I only wanted to talk to you. You know, to get to know you better since you are a transfer student after all," Sunohara said.

"Hmph! Well, if you have to know my name is Tomoyo. No way am I going to tell you my last name for who knows what you'll do with my identity," the girl said.

"Tomoyo? That's a pretty name. My name is Sunohara, but you can call me whatever you like, cutie."

I knew Sunohara was going to get hit if he kept calling her names like "sweet cheeks" and "cutie". Tomoyo didn't look like someone who would be gentle.

Tomoyo frowned and placed her hand on her hip and looked at me. "And you, looking stupid, what's your name?"

"Oh. I'm Tomoya," I said.

"Tomoya, huh? Just one letter apart. Hmm. How peculiar " she said. "But just because our names are one letter apart doesn't make you any less stupid than this jerk here."

"Oh. Don't worry. I'm much more respectful than that idiot."

I guess I made her happy because she left me alone after that. She turned back to Sunohara. "You do know that you're wasting my lunch time, right?"

"Oh that's just fine, babe because you can totally-"

In a blink of an eye, I saw Sunohara flying from the classroom, through a window and out to a tree. Holy shit.

"And if you call me "babe" again, I will blow your head right off! Do you hear me?!" Tomoyo yelled out to Sunohara who I heard groaning.

Tomoyo looked at me and huffed. "Next time, get your friend on a leash, okay?"

"That's the next step I'm thinking of making," I said.

Tomoyo smiled and walked passed me, leaving me a last message:

"The name's Sakagami. Tomoyo Sakagami."

Then she left.

Wow. Sunohara had his ass kicked by a girl.

* * *

After that encounter with the new transfer student, I went on my way towards my desk where I always have my lunch. It was just a lonely, bad-ass desk, but it was like my shelter in a way. But as I arrived there, I noticed a familiar brown-haired girl standing over it. She was looking around it, trying to find something.

"Hey," I said.

I knew I startled Nagisa because it seemed like she was going to die of a heart attack.

"O-oh! Hello Okasaki," she said softly.

I noticed her holding a wooden star.

"Were you looking for something?" I asked as I stood next to her.

"W-Well, kinda. Maybe..."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes...I was looking for you," Nagisa sighed.

I chuckled softly. " I saw you searching my desk pretty hard. Do you really think I can hide in there?"

"W-well, no but, I never actually looked at this desk well enough to know just how spacey it is. It's like a miniature office."

I chuckled and placed my hand on Nagisa'a head. "So tell me, what's up?"

Nagisa gave me a confused look. "Well, there are many things that are above us. There's the sky, the roof, the clouds..."

Should I laugh at how adorable Nagisa's being now or hit her in the back of the head for not understanding me? I would never do the second choice.

"Nagisa, when I say "what's up", you're suppose to tell me how you're doing or what's going," I said.

Nagisa's cheeks gave out a light pink. "O-oh! I'm sorry. I haven't been told that before, so I didn't really knew what to say. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. So now tell me, what's up?"

"Well, nothing much really, but I wanted to show you this," she said as she showed me the wooden star. I examined it for a while.

"Wow. Did you make this yourself?" I asked.

Nagisa giggled. "No. It was Fuko. Remember that I told you she was a girl who makes wooden stars? This was Fuko's making."

I smiled weakly. I tried so hard to keep believing her. I had so many options of where she received the star, but I guess I'll just stay quiet and believe her.

"I see. So how's Fuko doing anyway?" I asked.

"Oh she's doing fine. She had spent all her day yesterday making many stars like these," Nagisa said, hugging her star.

"I see. Is she here?"

"Umm...no. I've only seen her this morning when she gave me this star. She said she was going to be very busy making these."

"Why is she doing this?"

"She told me she's doing this because her older sister is getting married, and she's going to hand these stars as invitations."

That made me stop short. "But I thought that she's...dead."

Nagisa sighed. "Yes. She is."

"Then how does she know about her sister's wedding?"

"Fuko told me her sister told her way before she had her accident."

I rubbed my eyes in confusion. "Okay. So can you tell me the history of Fuko if you know it?"

Nagisa looked down to her star and hugged it tight. "Sure. Well, Fuko used to come to this school. She was a freshman. She was an orphan too, living with her only sister who used to teach here. Fuko was being bullied, but she didn't want to tell her sister because she didn't want to bother her. But to keep her mind off her misery, Fuko would do stars like these. Stars made her happy."

Nagisa paused and bit her lip.

"Then one day, when Fuko was walking home, the girl who bullied her caught her off guard and pushed her to the street. During that time, a car was rushing through and hit Fuko."

Nagisa pasued again. By the sound of her voice, she sounded like she was going to cry.

"Fuko was in a coma for a long time. But one day, her condition got worse and Fuko...died..."

That's when tears rolled down Nagisa's face. I'm not the one for crying people, so I didn't know what to do.

"But then, Fuko was revived as a spirit to lurked around, waiting until her sister's wedding to come before she had to cross over. I was the only one who saw her, sitting in this very same desk, and I only thought she was a normal girl. But later, I figured that she was not and most people thought I was crazy to be talking to an imaginary person. But Fuko's real, Okasaki. She's real..."

Nagisa let out a couple of tears before I had to step in and wipe them all off. She looked up into my eyes, the innocence that she had, making me feel guilty that I doubted her.

"I believe you, Nagisa," I said softly.

"You do?" she said.

"Of course I do. I know you well enough to know that you would never lie about something like that."

Nagisa sighed of relief and smiled. "I'm glad. Arigato gozaimasu, Okasaki."

I smiled back. "No problem. Now how about we eat something? We shouldn't go on an empty stomach."

"Yes. And I actually made lunch for you, Okasaki, unless you have your own lunch," she said.

"You made lunch for me?" I asked surprised. "No one ever made lunch for me."

"Well, I did. Because you were the first person in such a long time to be nice to me and believe me."

I looked down to Nagisa who was smiling at me. She really was such a good person.

* * *

**Well, how was it? You know, I think Nagisa would be the next ghost whispered. Haha. And speaking of which, here was Fuko's tragic history. What did you guys think? Please review and comment. Thank you. ^-^**


	7. Chapter 6

**Here's Chapter 6! Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch.6**

Flex Time now, and I was hanging out with Nagisa and Fuko, even if I could see her, but I made my efforts to talk to her. It was a nice experience, though. I've never been with girls who were so nice and happy before. Especially these two. Nagisa suffered from being isolated from everyone, and Fuko was hit by a car. These two were still very lively despite what they been through. It's amazing.

Just as we were all talking about music and such, someone entered our place, the place under the stairs, and interrupted us.

"Hey Nagisa!"

The only visible ones, Nagisa and I, looked up and saw the familiar orange haired guy names Ichigo. I swear, that guy must be stalking us.

"Hello Ichigo," Nagisa said. "Do you need something?"

Ichigo looked at me, and I looked back. We had a small staring contest until he broke it and turned to Nagisa.

"Can I talk to you in private?" he asked.

"Oh, um, I guess so," Nagisa said as she stood up from her chair and walked towards Ichigo. He led her outside the stairs and to the hallway. Damn. Now I was left alone. Well, sorta.

I set my focus to the empty chair where Fuko is supposed to be sitting. Call me stupid, but I don't care.

"So, Fuko, how are those stars coming along?" I asked.

Silence.

"I thought so."

So here I was, Tomoya Okasaki, talking to a chair like a retard. Hooray for me. I stayed there being bored for a while until I heard fast paced steps coming closer. I looked back ad saw Nagisa running to her chair, with tears falling down her face.

"Nagisa, what's wrong?" I asked, almost getting up from my chair and harming whoever or whatever made her cry.

"H-he...he..." Nagisa sobbed.

"Tomoya!"

Just then, I was grabbed by the collar and pulled towards a girl with beautiful long purple hair. It wasn't Tomoyo but Kyou, another strong girl.

"W-What is it, Kyou?" I asked surprised.

"You haven't happen to see a girl around here, have-" Kyou interrupted herself when she saw Nagisa and let go of me. "Nevermind." Kyou walked over to Nagisa. "Girl, what's your name?"

"N-Nagisa Furukawa..." Nagisa said as she wiped her tears.

"Nagisa, you need to learn how to choose your guys. Those losers out there are not meant to be anywhere near you."

"What are you saying, Kyou?" I asked.

She turned to me and pointed an accusing finger. "And you, Tomoya, you need to learn how to defend a girl."

Kyou seemed to stop for a while and let her mind run through some stuff. "Tomoyo? Don't tell me you're hanging around with-" She turned back to Nagisa. "Nagisa, if I were you, I wouldn't trust Tomoya. Don't hang around with a low life like-"

"Now wait just a second!" I interrupted. "I get the idea that Nagisa should watch out for certain guys but not all of them. I'm an exception. And why are you even here anyway?"

Kyou glared at me. "If you didn't know, Nagisa was attacked by two guys down the hallyway. I was there."

"Nagisa, you were attacked by two guys?" I asked.

Nagisa hesitated. "W-well...umm..."

"Of course she was. They were those bastards, Ichigo and Troy going at it again," Kyou said.

Damn Ichigo. I knew I should've never let him take Nagisa away.

"But what were they doing to Nagisa anyway?" I asked.

"Well, Ichigo was talking to Nagisa then Troy came along and the two boys where arguing over something then they began to fight. Nagisa told them to stop and Ichigo threww Troy over to Nagisa, causing her to fall over and hurt herself. Then she ran away. I walked over to the guys, gave them a small beating, and now I'm here," Kyou explained.

"Is that all true, Nagisa?" I asked. I didn't believe Kyou as much as I believed Nagisa, so I wanted to make sure.

Nagisa nodded.

"Ha! See? I'm a good girl after all, huh Tomoya?" Kyou said, giving me a teasing face.

Nagisa turned to Kyou and bowed her head. "Thank you. Thank you for caring for me."

Kyou smiled. " No problem, Nagisa. I just hate guys who take advantage of girls like that. It's just what I do."

Kyou walked over to me and patted by back. "Tomoya, is I see you being mean to Nagisa, I will literally kill you."

"Damn. What did I do to deserve something like that? I asked. I knew I shouldn't have asked. Kyou pinched my shoulder.

"Oh you know what I mean," she said between grinned teeth.

"Geez!" I yelped as I rubbed my injured shoulder.

Then Kyou laughed out of no where. "Well, it was nice being here, but I have other things to do. I'll see you guys later."

Kyou waved, took a few steps, then turned back around. "Oh. And my name is Kyou Fujibayashi, if you want to know, Nagisa."

Nagisa waved back. "Thank you, Kyou. And umm...you wouldn't mind if we become friends...would you?"

I looked at Nagisa who looked form Kyou down to her feet and back up. I then looked at Kyou who looked at Nagisa to me and back to Nagisa. Then she smiled. "Why sure, Nagisa. I'll be your friend. You are a senior, right?"

"Y-yes. Yes I am," Nagisa said.

Kyou laughed again. "Well, there are a bunch of seniors this year, so it's hard to keep up with everyone. Well, consider yourself a lucky girl, Nagisa. You have Kyou as a friend from now on. See ya later!"

Then Kyou walked away.

"Wow. Aren't you a very lucky girl?" I said as I turned back to Nagisa.

"Of course! I have a new friend!" Nagisa smiled.

"Well, yeah, but that was Kyou. People are scared to even come close to her. It's a big deal to have her as a friend."

"Really? She seemed good enough."

I chuckled. "Oh boy. You have no idea."

Nagisa raised an eyebrow. "Are you two close?"

"No, and I don't thinkwe ever will. She never seemed to like me for some reason."

"Well, I'm sure you two can make up."

"Maybe...Hey Nagisa."

"Yes?"

I didn't look at her but down on the table in front of me. "Please let me come with you next time. I don't want you to get hurt again."

I could feel Nagisa's eyes on me. "I would want you to come with me, but what if it's suppose to be private?"

I looked up to her. "I can still be there. Just far away but still able to see you."

Nagisa nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

I smiled and actually felt myself relieved. Then I felt a small tug at my sleeve. Nagisa pulled at me. "By the way, Fuko said she's working on your star."

I smiled to the empty chair. "Thanks Fuko."

* * *

**Kyou was introduced! Yay! But there was a conflict with Ichigo and Nagisa. Uh oh. And Troy is actually the name of a guy from my school but he won't come out anymore, I think. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and comment. ^-^**


	8. Chapter 7

**Here's Chapter 7! Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 7**

Another boring day in class. I sometimes wished there was a class where I can sleep. I would totally get an "A" on it. Damn, stupid school.

"Psst! Tomoya! Psst!"

I sighed and turned over to look at Sunohara. "What?"

"I want you to come with me again during lunch," he said.

I nodded weary and turned back to my window. I wonder what Sunohara wanted this time. Oh wait...

* * *

"What is it now?" Tomoyo said with her hands on her hips.

Yep. I should've known.

"I wanted to male it up to you for what happened yesterday," Sunohara smirked. "I was being such an ass to you, and I'm sorry."

Tomoyo seemed a bit amused yet uninterested. "Hmm. Well, I'm glad you actually apologized. I honestly thought you weren't."

Sunohara rubbed his nose. "Heh."

"But still..."

"Still what?"

"You're wasting my lunch time."

Sunohara walked next to Tomoyo and rested an arm over her neck. "Well, Tomoyo, I not only came her to apologize but to invite you to lunch. Since you are a new student, I thought of treating you to lunch. How about it?"

Tomoyo thought for a minute. "Hmm...I guess. But..." She pushed Sunohara towards a wall. "Don't touch me!"

"Ouch," I said as I saw Sunohara leaning against the wall.

Tomoyo looked at me. "And you?"

"Oh me? Oh, I don't think I'm gonna join you guys."

"You can't possibly leave me alone with him."

I sighed and looked at Sunohara, limping over to us. He smiled weakly.

"I guess I'll join for a while," I said.

Tomoyo smiled and grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. "Come on. I have the perfect place to have lunch."

"What about me?! I was the one who invited you!" Sunohara yelled behind us.

Man. I hope Nagisa would wait a little longer. I'm sorry, Nagisa.

* * *

"See? This is the perfect spot!" Tomoyo said as she placed a small cloth over the grassy ground and sat herself down. I sat down in front of her and Sunohara sat besides her.

"Okay, so the food I make may not be the best, but it isn't the worst," Sunohara said as he took out two lunch boxes and handed one to Tomoyo.

"Oh boy. I hope it's not that bad enough to kill me," she said as she opened the lunch box. I took out mine as the two began teasing each other.

"So, I'm guessing the both of you are seniors, looking from the uniform you guys are wearing," Tomoyo said as she began to take out chopsticks and dig into her food.

"Yep. The best seniors there are," Sunohara said with a wide grin.

Tomoyo giggled and took a piece of sushi. "You sure know how to be cocky."

Sunohara shrugged. "I'm only telling the truth. Well, I'm better than Okasaki, that's for sure."

The two laughed while I just rolled my eyes. "At least I don't get beaten up by a girl.

With that, Sunohara shut himself. Tomoyo only laughed.

"So, are you two in any activities here at school?" she asked.

"Not in a while," I said.

"Really? Why not? I mean, I only ask because you two look like the type of guys who would be in some sort of sport."

"We used to be in sports," Sunohara said.

"Yeah. I was in basketball and Sunohara was in soccer," I said.

"And what happened? Why did you guys quit?" Tomoyo asked.

I stayed quiet and looked over to Sunohara to see if he would answer, but he only stuffed him mouth with rice. Tomoyo looked at the both of us and sighed.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," she said.

"Well, what about you? Are you in anything?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

After chewing, Tomoyo said, "Well, I was never into sports, that's for sure. But I am thinking of joining the student council."

"The student council? Well, that's great. Did you know there's going to be an election to reappoint new members?"

Tomoyo nodded. "That's why I'm thinking of running for student council president."

Sunohara swallowed his rice. "You'll be a great president. You don't even have to make a campaign or anything. Just by your looks will help you win."

Tomoyo giggled. "I don't think just by standing in front of the school for everyone to look would get me votes. I'm going to need to do my best to get that place like all the others."

"You got my vote!" Sunohara said with a big smile.

"I have to know your motives before I can give you my vote," I said.

Tomoyo nodded. "Of course. Well, I've noticed that this school has little to no extracurricular activities. The only ones I've seen were the art club, the music club, yearbook, sports and student council. How can people expect for students to take part in any activities if there are only a few to join? Plus, to make it worse, there are strict rules on creating a club. If I can become president, I will make sure those rules are less strict, so anyone can create their own club in an easy way. That way, students can get their needed credit hours."

I nodded understandably. "You sure have a clear sight for an issue that had bothered me for a while."

Sunohara clapped. "You still have my vote!"

Tomoyo giggled. "Why thank you. And that's just the first step. I'm still researching more about this school and find ways to make it better."

"Well, you sure have a bright future ahead of you, Tomoyo. You have my vote," I said.

"Thank you, Tomoya. Both of you are so awesome."

Sunohara hugged Tomoyo. "Once you become president, I will be your First Man, babe!"

With that said, Sunohara signed his death contract. He was sent flying towards a nearby tree.

"What did I told you about calling me stuff like that?!" Tomoyo yelled over to the blonde hanging on the tree. Sunohara groaned loudly.

"I swear...hmph!" Tomoyo said as she moved her head a bit, making her grey hair sway.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry about that. He's never been good with girls."

"He reminds me so much of this guy who was at my old school. Makes me feels nostalgic."

"Heh. But you sure can hit a punch. Do you specialize in karate or kung-fu or something?"

Tomoyo laughed. "Oh dear no. I was just bullied when I was younger. I learned how to defend myself, and that's pretty much how I ended up with self-defense. I thought that being able to fight would earn me respect and at least some friends, but it only seemed to make me more distant from others. People are afraid to walk near me because they think I would kick them across the hallway or something."

"That's just ridiculous," I said. "I would respect you more. Just because you're really strong doesn't mean you need to be excluded. I think that's an awesome gift you have. You can kick some guy's ass when he messes with you."

Tomoyo smiled. "I guess so. I'm just glad you and Sunohara never had the intention of running away from me. Well, maybe Sunohara might do that some day now that I hit him like three times already."

"Don't worry about him. He seems to like you enough to never leave you. He might be small, but he's resilient."

"I guess so."

Then the bell rang.

"Well, guess we better be going to our next class," Tomoyo said as she began picking up her belongings. I did the same.

"Hey Sunohara! Time for class already!" Tomoyo yelled.

All I heard were more groans from the poor guy who tried to get himself down from the tree.

"Oh dear. Do you think I went too far this time?" Tomoyo asked.

I shook my head. "He'll be fine. You go ahead, Tomoyo. I'll help him down."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Tomoyo smiled. "Thanks." She took a few steps until she turned back around and said, "I know we just met and all, but do you think we can consider ourselves friends?"

"Sure. I find no reason we shouldn't," I said.

"That's nice. Thank you again, Tomoya."

And with that, we parted our ways.

* * *

After helping Sunohara off the tree, I ran over to where Nagisa would be. We would eat by my desk, and I hoped she stayed waiting. But I felt really bad. I made her eat all by herself today which was not in my schedule at all, and I thought I was only going to eat with Tomoyo ad Sunohara for a while, but I actually stayed with them longer than expected.

Nagisa please still be there. I'm sorry.

When I reached the hallway where the desk is, I caught a glance of Nagisa at the end.

"Nagisa!" I called out, but she didn't hear me. She walked away, disappearing around the corner. She must've been going to class already, I thought, but it didn't make sense. Why was she going that way? She had Writing with me, and we usually took another path. I rushed over to the corner and stood by it for a while to catch my breath.

I saw Nagisa talking with someone underneath a staircase. I saw her perfectly while the other person she was talking to was blocked by the stairs. But I knew she was talking with someone else because she was looking up and moving her lips. It wasn't Fuko, that's for sure because Nagisa would be looking down, not up.

I decided to stay behind. Maybe it was a private conversation. But then again, who else talked to Nagisa besides me?

I bit my lip. Ichigo.

I knew it was him. I knew it was that bastard who hurt Nagisa before. I knew I had to stay alert if something happens to her.

The conversation went on for a while, and I knew we were all late to class. Nagisa would never accept being late to class, so I thought of walking over to her and pull her away but then, something stopped me.

Nagisa began to panic.

I could see it in her eyes that held fear. I could see it from her trembling body. I could see is from her face getting a bit pink. Something was not right.

Then I heard her shrieking. I heard her words being all blurry because of how scared she was. She began to shake terribly and backed away from the figure, shaking her head. Then I saw arms grab her arms roughly and began to shake her. Something was definently not right. Ichigo was hurting her.

"Nagisa!" I yelled and rushed over to her. She jerked her head towards me and whispered my name.

"Okasaki..."

Then she fainted.

"Nagisa!" I yelled and grabbed her. I looked up to the other person who held Nagisa. Ichigo.

"Damn you bastard! What did you do?!" I said filled with rage as I pried his arms from Nagisa and pushed him away.

"I didn't do anything!" Ichigo growled.

"Like hell I would believe you!"

I held Nagisa and noticed her face was red. I touched her forehead and quickly took my hand off in an instant. Her face was extremely hot. She had a fever of some sort which might had been the cause of her fainting. But I saw her earlier, and she seemed fine. Not sick at all. It was something Ichigo did. I just know it.

Ignoring Ichigo completely, I carried Nagisa over to the nurse's office.

Nagisa was not well. She needed to heal. She needed to recover. She couldn't leave me now. Not so soon.

* * *

**Le gasp! Nagisa's in trouble all because of Ichigo! No! What will happen next? Will Tomoyo really win the election? Will Nagisa wake up? Will Sunohara ever learn not to mess around with Tomoyo? All those questions will be answered (maybe) in these coming chapters. Review and comment and favorite. Thank you. ^-^**


	9. Chapter 8

**Here's Chapter 8. Read and Enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch.8**

When people very important to you get very ill, doesn't your mind just rewind the good times you had with them? Don't you see your mistakes and wished you never had done them?

Well, that was what was going through my head right now.

I was missing Writing right now, but I didn't care. I was already failing it anyway. All I cared about was the girl resting in front of me. The nurse had given me permission to stay in her office as long as I didn't bother the patient. How could I? She needed as much rest as she could get.

Nagisa had a sudden fever that was strong enough to knock her out. That's what the nurse told me. What she didn't know was the cause of the fever. Nagisa was not sick from the flu, so it had to be something else. That something, I thought, was Ichigo. I'm sorry. I just greatly despised him.

The ticking of the clock told me minutes were passing by and slowly turning into hours. The nurse had called Nagisa's parents to come take her home, but it seemed like forever for them to arrive.

"Darling! Oh my dear Nagisa!"

"Nagisa!"

Suddenly, the door burst open and in came a woman and a man. They rushed over to Nagisa. The woman hugged her, and the man stood over the two women. The nurse came shortly.

"She will be all right," the nurse said. "She just needs to rest a lot."

"Of course," the woman said. I was guessing it was Nagisa's...sister? Or mom? I couldn't tell.

"It has been a while since this happened to her," the man said. I was guessing it was Nagisa's dad.

"Thank you so much for taking care of her, " Nagisa'a sister/mom said as she began to carry Nagisa.

"Oh I shouldn't receive all the credit. This young fellow student was the one who brought her here in the first place," the nurse said as she pointed to me. Everyone had their focus on me. I only stood there, leaning against a wall.

"Thank you so much for-" the sister/mom was interrupted by the dad charging up to me. He held my collar tightly.

"You huh? You only did this to get close to my daughter," he said.

"Are you crazy?" I said. Of course he was. Really asking a questions like that?

"No. Are YOU crazy? Do you think that just by doing something like this would give you the ticket to get my Nagisa? Well, think again, punk."

This guy is crazy.

"No, I didn't-"

"Darling, we need to take Nagisa home, " the sister/mom said as she walked out of the room with Nagisa in her arms.

"Yes, my dear," the dad said but never took his eyes from me. "You. Thank you."

With that, he rushed out of the room. I stood there being as confused as fuck.

* * *

Well, I've spent my time at the nurse's office to even go to Writing, so I only stood there in the middle of the hallway, looking stupid. What was I to do now? Classes were over and Flex Time had started. Without Nagisa present, I had nothing to do. I could always go search for Sunohara but God only knows where he is.

"Tomoya!"

I turned around and saw a familiar purple head walking my way.

"Hey Kyou," I said.

She waved to me. " Why weren't you in Writing today?"

"Well, I-wait, Writing? How is that any of your business? You're not in the same Writing class as me."

Kyou giggled. " I transferred classes. So now I have the same Writing class as you do."

I sighed. "Great."

Kyou patted me on my back pretty hard. "Cheer up, boy. We get to spend more time together." She laughed.

More time for you to torture me, I see.

"But look," Kyou shoved me some paperwork to my face. "I took the initiative of getting the work you missed. Aren't I nice?"

I grabbed the papers and stuffed them into my suitcase. "Yeah. Thanks, I guess."

Kyou waved another stack of paperwork. "I also got Nagisa's missing work. Apparently, she didn't come to class today either." She looked around and then back to me. "Where is she anyway? She's usually with you, is she not?"

"Yeah but not today. She got sick and had to go home early," I said.

"She got sick? Is she okay?"

"I hope so."

"I hope so too. Well, can you give these to her? I just met her yesterday, so I don't know where she lives," Kyou shoved the papers to my face.

"And you think I know?" I said, taking the papers.

"Well, of course! You two are best buds, right? You must know she lives."

"I guess."

Kyou patted my shoulder roughly. "Well, today's your lucky day. You get to go to her house and hand her the missing papers. While you do that, I have to go attend to other business. Tell Nagisa I said hi and hope she gets well soon." With that, Kyou walked away with her bright pride.

Even though it was strange to have her talk to me without insulting me, I have to agree that I kinda like this Kyou better. Sure, she's still a bit aggressive, but it's nothing compared to what she used to do to me. Get your head blown off by a dictionary, anyone?

Maybe it was the fact that Nagisa was involved? Eh. Maybe. But I can sure say Kyou had changed a bit. She was beginning to actually care.

But she was right. I needed to go visit Nagisa today and give her the assignment she missed. I know her well enough to know how she hates to be behind. Which actually reminded me...

I rushed towards the staircase where Nagisa, Fuko, and I always hanged out during Flex Time. It was lonely, of course, but I was wondering if Fuko was sitting in that empty chair.

"Hey Fuko. You there?" I said.

Silence.

I didn't mind it in the least, but I felt like I had to tell her.

"Fuko, I'm not sure if you know, but Nagisa had an accident today."

Silence.

"She got sick and fainted. Her parents came to pick her up, though, so she's going to be fine. Let's just pray and hope that she will make a quick, full recovery. What do you think?"

Silence.

"Well, umm, that's it actually. I just thought to let you know. I, uh, don't want this awkwardness between us, so I guess I'll just leave you alone and not bother you."

Silence.

I slowly began walking away until I stopped and turned back around to the empty chair. "Can't wait to see my star." Then I walked away.

So now, I really had nothing to do. I walked down the hallway and yawned. Maybe I should take a nap. That's what I've wanted ever since the morning. I looked around for a place where I know I would not be disturbed. The library. Nobody goes there and when they do, it's only for a small while. A perfect place to sleep.

I walked inside and walked all the way to the back, so no one would see me and bother me. I could leave school and go to Nagisa's place and check up on her, but I felt like it was too soon for that. I wanted Nagisa to rest and not worry about talking to me, so I'll just take a nap now and go to her house later.

I noticed a table and decided to sleep there. I walked over to it and was about to sit down until I almost died of a heart attack. Since no one ever came in here, I never thought of a girl to be sitting on a cushion on the floor, barefooted.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me!" I gasped. She didn't seem to notice me or maybe she just ignored me. She didn't look up from her book she had on her lap, reading it. Surrounding her were other books laying on the floor and as I looked closer. the books were very advanced. She must be very smart to be reading these books.

I also saw her purple eyes moving quickly through the pages. She can read really fast too. I just stood there, looking at her. The girl then stopped reading, took out a pair of scissors and was about to cut off a page.

"Hey! You can't do that!" I said.

The girl stopped, looked away from her book, than looked up to me. Her face was a bit expressionless. Hey eyes were just staring at me.

For some reason, she crept me out, so I walked to her and grabbed the scissors. "You can't cut up a library book. They don't belong to you." I placed the scissors on the table. "Okay. The scissors stay here, away from the books." God, I sounded like I was talking to a kindergartener.

The girl only stared. She seemed so serious. I actually felt a bit worried for my well-being. It was an intense moment between the both of us. We held a staring contest with her winning because I felt my face get sweaty. She can really intimidate people.

"Hello. What's your name?" she finally spoke.

"Umm, Tomoya," I said.

"Tomoya? I'm Kotomi."

"Oh, uh, hey."

Again, we went back to staring, well she did. I couldn't keep staring back.

"So, what are you dong here barefooted?" I asked.

Kotomi turned away from me and took out a lunch box. She opened it and handed it to me. "I made too much food. Do you want the rest of it?"

I looked down to the food. It seemed like she made food for three people. "You know, we can't really eat in here."

Kotomi stared at me.

"But since you're offering..." I said as I took the food. She can really make a guy give up or maybe just me.

She handed me an extra pair of chopsticks, and I sat down on the table. Maybe this is was she did during Flex Time which only means she's a senior too.

"Kotomi, you're a senior, right?" I asked.

A slight silence then she answered, "Why yes I am."

"That's nice. So am I. Sorry, but I never seen you before, but what can I say? There's too many seniors this years for me to known them all."

The silence again. This was so awkward, so I just ate in silence while she continued reading. After a few minutes, I was done and full indeed.

"That was really good. Thank you, Kotomi," I said.

She didn't respond back. I turned over to her to look at her, and she was reading as I thought. Her eyes seemed to scan the pages.

"You like to read, huh?" I said.

Kotomi slowly looked up to me. "Do you want to read with me?"

"Umm...well..."

Kotomi pulled out another cushion from a nearby book-case and placed it next to her. Without saying anything, her eyes told me to join her.

I sighed. "Well you did offered me food. I might as well do something for you."

I stood up and sat down on top of the cushion next to her. Kotomi placed the book she had down and picked up another one. She opened it to the first page and moved the book closer to my face.

"Oh no. I would prefer if you read to me. My eyes will only close on me if I read," I said.

Kotomi blinked once and then moved the book to her.

"I'll listen. I promise," I said.

Kotomi got herself comfortable then raised the book up to her face. " 'Two days ago, I saw a rabbit. Yesterday, it was a deer. Today, it's you' "

* * *

**How was it? Is Fuko becoming real to you people? And Kotomi was introduced! Yay! Well, see more of her on the incoming chapters. Review, comment, and favorite. Thank you. ^-^**


	10. Chapter 9

**Here's Chapter 9! Sorry it was a day late. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 9**

For some reason, a white rabbit was in front of me. It took a few hops before it transformed into a white deer. It looked at me and began to fly away, transforming itself to a cloud. It grew a strange face and began rain blood. Some if it got in my mouth, but it tasted sweet like candy. It was all so strange.

"Tomoya."

A distant voice was heard but from where?

"Tomoya."

"Stop..." I groaned and tried to cover my eyes. Suddenly, I felt myself being shaken. "Stop..."

"Tomoya."

Then the sound of a bell ran through my ears.

"Stop!" I jumped a bit and felt my eyes slowly open. A table was in front of me, the smell of books lingered in my nose, and I felt my head resting against something. I groaned a bit and turned my head over to what I was resting on. Gorgeous purple eyes stared down at me. I stared back for a while until i came back to my senses and jumped away.

"Kotomi? What are you-" Then I looked down at her hands that held a book. I began to remember. "Oh damn. Did I sleep on you? I did, didn't I?"

Kotomi nodded.

"Damn, I'm sorry, Kotomi. I didn't mean to sleep on you. I'm sorry," I said.

"It's okay," Kotomi whispered. She stood up and began to pick her things up.

"No, it's not okay. You gave me food, and I just slept on you."

Kotomi placed both cushions underneath the table as well as her books. She took her shoes and socks from a book-case and began to put them on.

"It's okay," she said.

"It's not okay, Kotomi. I was rude to you for doing that even though you gave me food. Please let me make it up to you," I said.

Kotomi fixed herself up and looked at me. "It's okay."

I frowned. I felt like she was sad. Poor Kotomi.

"Come on. Please let me make it up to you," I pleaded.

Kotomi walked ahead as I followed her out of the library. She said nothing, so I decided to keep quiet.

We walked out to the gate since it was time to go home now and just stood there.

"Kotomi..." I whispered.

She kept her eye contact in front of her. "Would you walk with me to my house?"

I looked over at her, and she looked back. Might as well. "Sure. Let's go."

And so our walk began. It was a quiet walk, too quiet really, much more quiet than my walk with Nagisa. Plus, I didn't know where Kotomi lived. I found myself to follow where instead of actually walking with her.

At some point, we passed the street where Nagisa lived, and I felt like turning away and run to her house. But I still need to talk with Kotomi because I owe it to her. I'll come back soon, Nagisa. Hang on.

The surprising thing I found out was that Kotomi, Nagisa, and I lived really close to each other. What a small world this is.

We soon reached a lonely, white house at the end of the street with a beautiful lawn and a white, metal fence.

"Thank you, Tomoya," Kotomi finally spoke.

"No problem. I did told you that I had to make it up to you," I said.

Kotomi nodded, opened the fence's door and walked in. She left the door opened just a bit and turned around to me. "Would you like to come in?"

"Uh...actually, I can't. I have to see someone else," I said.

Kotomi stared at me, but her eyes seemed to dance around.

"I promise I'll visit you some day," I said. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, that's for sure.

"See you later," she said.

I was actually caught off guard. She just dismissed me. Did I really hurt her?

"Kotomi, I-"

Kotomi closed the fence and waved to me. "Good bye." Then she walked into her house and let me standing alone.

* * *

After haven been sorta ditched by Kotomi, I began to walk alone towards Nagisa's house. For some reason, the way that Kotomi acted, the way she talked, the way her eyes stared at me and have the ability to talk to me with them, it all felt like I've felt this sensation before as if I've seen her before. But it couldn't be possible because I've never seen her before or so I thought. Maybe it was someone else I'm thinking about but something about Kotomi made me feel like I've met someone like her before. Oh well.

Because I've been thinking about Kotomi for too long, I never realized when I was in front of a house with a white, wooden fence, a nice lawn with a small pathway leading up to the house's door. Being dark outside, I could see lights coming from inside the house.

So I was here. Do I just go in? There's a fence, so I tried to open it, but it didn't budge. I knocked and waited for a while. No response. I looked around to see if there was some sort of handle to open the fence, but there was nothing. The last option for me was to yell, and I was about to do that until my eye caught sight of a button next to the fence's door. I hesitated for a bit from how stupid I was for not seeing it there, and decided to press it.

Suddenly, the door opened a bit. It was peculiar but pretty interesting. I slowly entered and walked down the pathway. Before I reached the door, I could see in the house through the screen door. There was a woman holding a tray of bread. She saw me and urged me to come in.

I slid open the door and instantly, the smell of delicious bread reached my nose. Before my very eyes, shelves upon shelves of different varieties of bread gave off a lovely aroma. Compared to the outside air, the air in here was very welcoming and warm.

"Welcome," the woman said as she placed down the tray on a shelve. She smiled to me. Then she became familiar. She was Nagisa's sister/mom.

"Hello," I said.

"Aren't you the nice guy who saved my daughter?"

"Yeah. My name's..." My voice trailed off when I realized something. Holy shit. This was Nagisa's mom! She's super young!

"Your name is?" she said as she raised an eyebrow. I shook my head and repeated myself.

"Sorry. My name's Tomoya."

"Well, Tomoya. My name's Sanae Furukawa. Please don't hesitate to call me by my first name."

I examined her. I still couldn't believe it.

"Thank you very much for saving my daughter," Sanae said and picked up the tray she had earlier and shoved it to me. "Would you like some bread?"

I smiled awkwardly. "I didn't really came here for bread. But since you offered, I'll take one bite."

I picked up one bread which looked like a polka-dotted cookie. It looked good enough to eat, so I took a bite...

"It's my new creation. I believe I'll call them Skittles," Sanae said.

Oh God...this tastes like...

"Do you want me to be honest with you about it?" I asked.

"Yes, of course! Doesn't it have a unique taste?"

"The taste is very unique but not in a good way."

"W-what?"

"The taste is hard to pinpoint exactly. I can't even say if it's good or just strange, but it's not even good. You haven't sold these, have-"

"No wonder they haven't sold out! They're simply awful!" Sanae cried and ran away from the house.

"Hey wait!" I called out as I saw her run out from the fence and down the street. Great. I made Nagisa's mom cry. I'm going to hell.

"You dumbass!"

Suddenly, a man charged up to me and pushed me against a wall.

"You know, you could've just said they were good! Don't you know it's rude to tell someone something's not good after they offered you! It's a damn free bread, fro crying out loud!"

The man in front of my face, I could never forget, was Nagisa's "lovely" dad.

"Well, she told me to be honest with her. You wanted me to lie?" I said.

"That's what most people do, so you better change that attitude of yours and be a sport!"

"Okay, okay! Now I know. Can you let me go?"

Mr. Furukawa let me go and shook his head at me. I held my chest from where he had pushed me.

"Hey, aren't you that guy who took my daughter to the nurse earlier today?" he asked.

"Yeah. I came to see if she's okay," I said.

"Well," the dad crossed his arms over his chest, "she's fine. She just needs to rest, and she'll be fine." He gave me a glare. "Don't expect her to be calling out your name though...what's your name, anyway?"

"Tomoya." I can't believe I told him.

"Yeah. Nagisa's not going to be calling out your name "Oh Tomoya! Tomoya!" Psh! Get real, kid."

I sighed. "I didn't come here to know if she was calling my name or not. I came here to see if she was okay and-" I took out the papers from my suitcase and handed them to Mr. Furukawa. "-I brought her the assignments she missed from last class."

The dad grabbed the papers and looked at them "The school expects for Nagisa to make up work? How disgusting." He rolled up the papers and threw them on the counter behind him. "Well, now I gotta go get my wife back. You better head back home, kid. You wouldn't want your folks to worry about you."

With that, Mr. Furukawa stuck a piece of the Skittles bread in his mouth and rushed out, mumbling out, "I love you, baby!"

I felt myself sweatdrop. These are some very strange parents, but they seem decent enough. They care about Nagisa as any parents should. I wished I had parents like that.

* * *

**Tomoya feels like he met Kotomi before but it can't be true, can it? And poor Sanae had her heart broken but never fear, Akio's here! Anyway, let's just hope Nagisa's alright. Please review, comment, and favorite for more chapters. Thank you. ^-^**


	11. Chapter 10

**Here's Chapter 10! Sorry for the late reload, I just have some many things to take care of that it's hard to type this story for you all to read. But I will manage. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch.10**

Today's been boring. I've heard that Nagisa didn't come to school, so everything I did with her would be cancelled out. I was kinda worried. I hoped she was okay.

When it was lunch time, I walked over to the desk Nagisa would usually meet me to eat lunch. I wasn't surprised when I didn't see her there. So, Nagisa really wasn't here. I guess I'm gonna have to eat with Sunohara and Tomoyo today.

* * *

"I found another problem in this school. A major one," Tomoyo said as she stuck a piece of chicken in her mouth.

"And what is that?" Sunohara asked as he sipped his juice.

"The problem is that I can't believe how this school handles fundraising. Come on, the sports department have poor uniforms and equipment. The art club don't have enough supplies The music club's instruments are decaying and the yearbook have a cheap outline for this year's yearbook. The only money this school seems to get is from the student council savings. I mean, what's the deal with that? I believe that this school need to step it up and get their game on."

Sunohara clapped. "You go, Tomoyo!"

Tomoyo giggled. "What do you think, Tomoya?"

I heard everything they said, but it seemed like it came and went. My only focus was on a piece of lettuce but even that my mind wasn't on it. It was a thousand miles away.

"Tomoya, you okay?" Tomoyo asked as she shook me which brought me back to my senses.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Tomoyo. I think you're pretty too," I said. Man, I felt like I just woke up.

Tomoya raised an eyebrow. "Well, thank you but-"

"Why doesn't he get hit?" Sunohara raged. Without words, Tomoyo shut him by pushing his face down to the floor, almost getting his head stuck.

"Tomoya, I know something's up. What is it?" she asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing really."

"Tomoya..." Tomoyo got closer to me and gave me a stern look. "Tell me. I'm here to listen. It's not good to keep something locked inside of you."

I sighed. "Fine. I guess it isn't too bad if I told you."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

"Well, it's nothing really, but there's this girl and..." I looked at Tomoyo, waiting for her to say "oh and you like her and you want to know how to get her". Most people are like that. But no. She just stayed quiet and waited for me to finish. "...and well, she got sick yesterday, very sick, and well, I guess I'm just worried about her."

Tomoyo nodded. "I understand." She took a sip from her water. "She must be a close friend of yours. It's only human that you would find yourself feeling that way. I hope she gets well soon, though, even if I might not know her. Who is she?"

"Nagisa Furukawa." For some reason, it felt good to say that name.

Tomoyo thought for a while. "Nope. Doesn't ring a bell. But why not invite her over to eat lunch with us when she gets well. I would love to meet her."

"Sure," I smiled. Tomoyo smiled back. Man, doesn't it feel good to have friends who really care about you? Nagisa's going to be so happy when she meets Tomoyo. I can sense the both becoming close friends.

"Mmfh! Mmmfgh! Urgh!" Sunohara mumbled from underground.

We all laughed.

* * *

After waving bye to Tomoyo, Sunohara and I headed to our Writing class.

"How come she likes you?" Sunohara asked.

"Maybe because I don't screw up as badly as you do," I smirked.

Once we got seated and started class, Ms. Nowak announced that we were all going to do an assignment that involved having a partner. Oh well, that's easy. I have...

I turned to my left and noticed the seat empty. That's right. Nagisa isn't here. Darn.

"I'll partner up with Tomoya, Miss!"

Just the, a familiar purple head sat in the chair and smiled widely to me.

"Kyou, really?" I said.

"Well, why not? I promise you I won't bite this time," Kyou said.

Oh, she wasn't joking about the biting...

Once Nowak handed the assignment, everyone started to work.

"Okay, so I know you have a motive," I said. "You never wanted to work with me before."

"Well, of course I have a motive. It's about Nagisa," Kyou said.

I immediately looked at her. "What is it?"

Kyou laughed. "Seems like Nagisa can really capture your attention."

I growled.

"I'm only joking. But this is serious, and it's about her. Something really bad happened to her, right?" she said.

"Yeah."

"At first, I was like "oh it's probably nothing I need to worry about." But then I realized that I should be worried. I overheard Ichigo and some other guys, forgot their names, talking about how Nagisa fainted in front of Ichigo for no reason at all."

I grunted. "Like hell that's true."

"That's what I thought. Ichigo probably did something to Nagisa that same day she got sick. So I managed to get that dirty bastard all to myself."

"You didn't beat him, did you?"

"No. Why? You wanted to join in?"

I only shrugged.

"Anyway, I got him surrounded earlier today and forced him to tell me everything," Kyou said.

"And did he?" I asked.

"Eh. He only told me that he told her he loved her and that he would do anything for her and that was it. He said he didn't knew why Nagisa suddenly fainted. But he gave me his prediction of it being you for interrupting them."

I only huffed in a laughing way. "That idiot."

Kyou shrugged. "And that's all I got. I was going to threaten him with demand, but I decided to just wait until Nagisa recovers, and she can tell us herself. Nagisa wouldn't lie."

I nodded. I actually agreed with Kyou. The world's going to end.

"Tell me, Kyou. Why are you all of a sudden being so talkative with me and actually caring for a person for once?" I asked.

Kyou gave me a cold glare and patted me hard on the back. "What? You thought I never cared about anyone just because I didn't cared about you, and I'm only being talkative to you because Nagisa's your friend? Her friends are my friends too, you know."

I actually felt myself smile. I guess Kyou did have a heart after all. What made me happy was that she cared for Nagisa.

"So, what you're saying is that I'm your friend now?" I teased.

"Maybe," Kyou smirked.

I smirked back. I thought she was going to punch me or something.

"Come on, Tomoya. Stop slacking and do you're part in this assignment," she commanded.

I'm still relieved that Kyou was still being Kyou.

* * *

Flex Time now, and I decided to pay a certain someone a visit. I walked to the hang out where Nagisa, Fuko, and I used to be at. I waved to the empty chair.

"Hey Fuko. Haven't talked to you for a while," I said.

Silence.

"Sorry about leaving you yesterday all by yourself. I just thought that maybe you wanted to be alone and wouldn't want someone to bother you."

Silence.

"Nagisa's going to be just fine, you know, so you shouldn't worry about her. She'll be fine."

Silence, yet I felt like I heard an echo saying, "I'm glad."

"So, uh, yeah. I just wanted to say hello and to tell you about Nagisa. So, uh, maybe I should leave you alone again, so you can attend to your business."

Silence.

I smiled and started to walk off. "Oh. And I'm still waiting on that star of mine."

An echo saying, "It's going to be the best."

I smiled and nodded. "I'll be expecting it."

Then I walked away.

Okay, so what was I to do today? I didn't feel like looking for Sunohara, I've never seen Tomoyo during this time, Kyou is probably in some activity, Nagisa isn't here, and Kotomi...

Let's go pay her a visit.

I walked towards the library and went towards the back. And there she was, sitting on a cushion with a book in hand, barefooted.

"Hey Kotomi," I said.

She continued reading.

"Kotomi."

Nothing.

"Kotomi."

Nada.

"Kotomi, hey."

Finally, she looked up from her book and stared at me. I smiled weakly and waved. "Hey. You wouldn't mind if I hang around here, would you?"

Kotomi said nothing and placed another cushion next to her. I placed down my suitcase and sat down. She continued reading.

"So, is this what you do during Flex Time?" I asked.

Kotomi only turned a page.

I decided to be quiet. Maybe she didn't want to be disturbed. So, I just sat there, staring from underneath the table in front of me and to the open library door. I heard people laughing.

"Kotomi, do you have any friends?" I asked. I wasn't expecting her to answer because she was busy reading.

"I'm not sure," she whispered.

I turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "How can you not be sure?"

Kotomi placed her book down and took out her lunch box. She opened it and handed it to me. "I left you half of my food."

"Uh...thank, but you really shouldn't have," I said as I took the lunch. She handed me a pair of chopsticks and went back to her book. This girl was still very strange to me, but I'm grateful that she gave me food. I was too distracted during lunch earlier today for me to eat anything, so I was pretty hungry.

* * *

I decided to walk Kotomi to her house again today. We merely talked because she merely answered. Still now, I didn't know whether she was just shy or didn't ever like me for her to be acting like this. But there's just something about her that still bothers me. I just can't pinpoint it.

We reached her empty, beautiful house. Yesterday, I didn't see her parents come out to welcome her back. That was the usual tradition, as far as I know, but maybe they were working.

Kotomi opened the fence's door and walked inside. She left it a bit open, and I wondered if I was supposed to enter..

"Wait here," was all she said as she entered her house and left me alone. So this time, she didn't even ask me to come in. I wondered if I really offended her yesterday.

A couple of minutes later, Kotomi came back holding a small plate covered in aluminum foil. She handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked. It gave off a strong, wonderful smell, meaning it must be something dealing with food.

"Dessert," Kotomi said. "A gift for walking with me to my house."

"Oh. Thanks. That's so nice of you."

Kotomi stared at me directly in my eyes. I saw her purple eyes dancing around like telling me a story. It might just be me, but it felt like she wanted me to know something, not sure what. Then she looked down and bowed her head.

"See you later," she whispered.

Kotomi began walking away. I saw her long, navy hair sway from side to side as she walked with her two pink hair clips glittering under the sunset.

"Kotomi, wait," I called out.

She froze in place but didn't turn around.

"Kotomi, I was wondering if we could be friends," I said.

The girl slowly turned around and looked at me. She looked at me, not stared. She suddenly become human in that moment.

"You...you want to be...my friend?" she asked.

"Sure why not? You seem like a nice girl and, well, I want to get to know you more. So, how about it?" I said.

I saw her hesitate and then a wonderful thing happened. Her lips curved upwards, closed her eyes, and her cheeks flushed.

She was smiling.

After always seeing her having a serious face with her dull eyes, Kotomi showed me that she was just a normal girl who knows what happiness is. She just needed someone to spark that beautiful emotion inside of her.

* * *

**So many things have happened here. I wish Tomoyo was my school's student council president. She really has to many great ideas to make a school better. I also wished to have a friend like Kyou to take care of me and beat up others who mess with me. And Fuko was able to talk to Tomoya! Le gasp! For those who didn't believe in Fuko, here's some proof. And, who can't love how adorable Kotomi is, right? Don't you guys sense some strong bonds between Tomoya and Kotomi? Yay! Well, please review, comment, and favorite for more chapters. Thank you. ^-^**


	12. Chapter 11

**Here's Chapter 11. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 11**

And yet another boring day here in school. I was actually not going to come today because I found no reason to. But then the small hope of Nagisa coming back made me come.

When it was lunch time, I felt myself running towards the desk where Nagisa would be waiting for me. I ran and ran and...there she was.

The girl with the short, reddish-brown hair and matching eyes was standing there, talking to someone invisible, probably Fuko. I felt relieved and smiled to her.

"Nagisa," I said.

She stopped talking and looked up to me. She smiled and waved to me. "Hello Okazaki."

For some reason, this felt like a dream.

For lunch, I took Nagisa with Tomoyo and Sunohara. Tomoyo and Nagisa met each other and had a good conversation together. In the end, they concluded with being friends which made me very happy, and Tomoyo made Sunohara friend Nagisa. Man, it made me really happy. Nagisa had now four friends. It almost made me cry.

* * *

"Yesterday, my dad told me you came over to hand me my missing classwork the day I was became absent," Nagisa said.

"Yeah. My real motive was to see if you were alright more than giving you missing work," I said.

The both of us were finally alone under the stairs during Flex Time, well, with the only exception of Fuko sitting in the empty chair beside Nagisa.

She giggled. "It makes me happy to know someone bothered to come check me out."

"Why of course. You're my friend. I want to know if you're okay," I said.

She smiled. "That means a lot. And...I'm sorry for not being here yesterday. You must've been lonely."

"No, no. You don't need to apologize. You were ill. You couldn't control it. All I cared about was your well-being."

Then Nagisa turned to the empty chair, and I knew Fuko was talking to her. Nagisa suddenly blushed.

"F-Fuko...I don't think so..." she stuttered.

I raised an eyebrow. "What did she say?"

"O-oh nothing. Fuko's only talking," she said.

Before I could say anything else, someone burst in.

"Tomoya! Nagisa!"

It was none other than Kyou.

"Hello Kyou," Nagisa said.

Kyou smiled to her and walked next to her. "Hello Nagisa. You feeling better?"

"Yes."

"And you're not gonna ask me how I'm doing?" I asked.

"You look fine to me," Kyou said. I just smirked. Kyou turned back to Nagisa. "So, Nagisa..." Kyou was about to put her butt down on the empty chair until both Nagisa and I shouted out to her.

"No!"

Kyou got startles and looked at us both in shock. "What?"

"P-please Kyou..." I walked away from my seat and offered it to her. She raised an eyebrow but shrugged.

"Okay? I don't see what's wrong with this chair," Kyou said and walked over to my seat and sat down. I let out breath, and I heard Nagisa sighed of relief.

"Anyway, Nagisa, I wanted to know exactly what happened the day before yesterday. You fainted, right?" Kyou said.

I stood by Nagisa who hesitated a bit. "Well...yes..."

"And I learned that Ichigo was the one who did this to you."

Nagisa bit her lip. "W-well, yes but-"

"So I want, well, we want to know what he did to you."

"Oh umm..." Nagisa looked up to me, and I only gave her a soft, concern face, trying not the show he pressure to tell us even though I really wanted to know. Nagisa looked back to Kyou and sighed, "Okay, but please keep this between us."

Kyou nodded. "Got it."

"Well," Nagisa began, "That day, I was waiting to eat lunch with Okazaki, but he never came..."

"How rude, Tomoya! Leaving poor Nagisa all alone," Kyou glared at me.

"Yeah. I'll take that one. I'm sorry, Nagisa. I should've went to you, but Sunohara and Tomoyo took me to eat with them. But I can't put the blame on them. I'm sorry," I said.

"Oh, it's okay, Okazaki. I know I can be boring to hang around with," Nagisa smiled. I wanted to tell her that she's actually fun to be with, and it should be the other way around, but I decided to stay quiet.

"Nagisa, I told you that Tomoya isn't a guy you should hang around with. I think you're a fun girl to be with," Kyou said. "But we need to go back to topic."

"Oh thank you, Kyou. And well, that day, I decided to eat by myself which I got used to. Then, when the bell rang, I was about to go until Ichigo called me to have a short talk with me. He started off with telling me how much he loved me and then went to know how much he would go off to do anything for me."

Kyou rolled her eyes. "That weirdo."

"And then he began telling me how he would hurt others and himself if I didn't fall for him," Nagisa said, looking down to her hands.

"What?!" Both Kyou and I gasped. This was going too far, and I knew Kyou agreed with me. Who in their right mind would do something like that?

"And...he told me he would commit suicide if he ever found out that I was interested in someone else," Nagisa said, close to tears. "He would stop being a friend then kill himself. I-I can't do that...I can't let him hurt himself because of me."

BAM!

The slam on the table caused both Nagisa and I to jump a little. Kyou had slammed her hand on the table with fury.

"That bastard! He can't go around telling people stuff like that! That'd like beyond blackmailing!" Kyou said.

I nodded. "Yes! Ichigo can't be telling you stuff like that just so you can end up being his girlfriend! You should report him, Nagisa."

"Or I can just go beat him into something a little less human," Kyou said with a fist.

Nagisa shook her head. "Please don't. I want all this to be kept confidential."

"Kept confidential, my ass!" I said. "If Ichigo's threatening you like this, he deserves to be punished. No wonder you got sick. He pressured you too much."

"Please. I'm sure I can handle this..."Nagisa said.

"Have you told your parents about him? I'm pretty sure by the way your dad is, Ichigo wouldn't survive a day," I said.

"I said I wanted this to be kept confidential. I'm pretty sure we can talk this through. Ichigo can be a reasonable guy..."

I was about to open my mouth but closed it back up. I looked at Kyou who shook her head in disbelief and frustration. She got up from her seat and walked away. She didn't say anything, just got up and left. I've known Kyou for years to know that she was furious. I was too, to some extent.

"Nagisa..." I whispered.

"Please understand, Okazaki. I know what I'm doing doesn't seem to be the best idea ever, but I have my reasons. I don't want you to support me but only to understand me," Nagisa said.

I sighed. "Okay Nagisa. If that's what you want. But know as your friends, Kyou and I are only looking out for you. We don't want you to get hurt anymore."

Nagisa smiled. "I know. Arigato."

I looked at Nagisa. This girl had so much mercy. Her heart is as pure as gold. Definitely an angel.

* * *

Once the last school bell rang, Nagisa and I headed out to the gate. We decided to change the subject from earlier and just talked about anything else. When we reached the gate, I noticed a familiar girl standing by the exit. It was Kotomi.

Shit. I forgot about her.

"H-hey Kotomi," I waved in a nervous way. I hoped she didn't get upset.

Kotomi stared at me. Oh great. Back to staring and just when I got her to only look at me and not stare. But she only stared at me for a while until she stared at Nagisa.

"Oh? You know her, Okazaki?" Nagisa asked.

"Yeah. Met her a few days ago," I said. "Kotomi, this is Nagisa. Nagisa, this is Kotomi."

"It's very nice to meet you," Nagisa smiled and bowed.

Kotomi only stared at her then when back to me.

"Don't stare at me. Say hi," I said.

I think I startled Kotomi because she hesitated.

"Oh, it's fine. I understand being a bit shy when you first meet someone," Nagisa said.

Ugh. I guess do. Kotomi didn't seem to budge.

"Well, when you weren't here, Nagisa, I used to walk her to her house," I said.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Don't apologize..."

"But I must. Kotomi was probably waiting here for you to walk her home, but you told me you were going to walk me home. I probably should go my way and you two walk home together."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Or I can walk to both of you home. All three of us don't live so far from each other anyway."

"Really? Well, that sounds better," Nagisa smiled.

Kotomi said nothing at all even on our walk. She was silent the whole time. It was just awkward. When we arrived to the stop for Nagisa, Nagisa smiled and waved to the both of us.

"Thank you. This is okay for me," she said. "I'll see you guys-"

"C-can we be f-friends?"

Both Nagisa and I turned to Kotomi who looked to the floor. I guessed she was addressing the question to Nagisa.

"I-I know we didn't talk at all, b-but I want to know you better because...you seemed so nice, Nagisa..." Kotomi said.

I was actually astonished. I've never heard Kotomi talked so much at the same time to someone else.

Nagisa smiled. "Sure. At first, I thought you didn't like me because you weren't talking to me."

Kotomi smiled for the second time this week. "Thank you."

After that, I walked Kotomi to her house. We didn't talk as usual but this time, I didn't feel this cold, serious aura between the both of us but instead it was gentle and warm. I couldn't explain it.

"Tomoya..." Kotomi finally spoke once we reached her house.

"Hmm?" I looked at her. Still, something about her seemed very familiar, but I couldn't figure it out.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For friending me, for introducing me to a nice, kind girl like Nagisa, for giving me friendship again."

"Huh?"

Kotomi looked up towards the red shy of the sunset. I could see her purple eyes turn into a beautiful scarlet.

"You have done it again, Tomoya...thank you," she said.

I looked at her with a very confused face. I've done what again? If I am correct, I've only met her a few days ago. And what I've done on those days was nothing. We rarely talked and when we did, it was like Kotomi had her own conversation with someone else...someone in her heart.

"Kotomi, I-"

She set her focus on me and smiled sadly. "Tomoya-kun..."

I gasped. I didn't know why, but I did. Tomoya-kun? For some reason, I felt like I've been called that before, way before, a long time ago.

"See you later," Kotomi said before she walked inside her fence and into her house.

Then something hit me. I've known Kotomi in the past somehow, but I can't remember when.

* * *

**Damn it, Ichigo! Why would you go off doing something to poor Nagisa? Why? And why can't Tomoya remember? Kotomi was probably something to him before but he can't remember! Why? Well, I hope it was a nice read. Please review, comment, and favorite for even more. Thank you. ^-^**


	13. Chapter 12

**Here's Chapter 12! Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 12**

Finally, it's Friday! Thank the heavens! Now all I need to do is for the day to end! Yay. Well, at least that's what I would've said before.

It's Flex Time now, and I'm hanging out with Nagisa and Fuko as usual, talking about anything really. I liked hanging out with the two even if one I couldn't really see, but Nagisa was there to tell me everything Fuko said and did.

"So, Fuko, when will I receive my star?" I asked the empty chair. Nagisa looked down to it and smiled.

"She says that she has been really busy with the million other stars she's making, but she really wants yours to be very special," Nagisa said.

I smiled. "How nice of you, Fuko. Well, I'll just be waiting for it."

Nagisa looked back to the chair and giggled. "That's so sweet."

"What?"

Nagisa looked at me and smiled. "You talked to Fuko while I was gone, didn't you?"

I felt my cheeks get hot. "Umm...s-she told you that?"

"Mhmm. I think that was nice of you. Fuko must have been lonely all this time but-huh?" Nagisa looked back to the chair and nodded. "Aww! Just by you talking to her made her forget she was lonely and actually made her very happy."

I turned my face away because I knew I was blushing.

"That was so nice of you, Okazaki. All this time, I thought you were just going along with me. I actually thought you still doubted me, but now I know that you were actually very serious when you told me that you believed me," Nagisa said.

I turned around to face her. "Of course I believed you. Right from the start. I just wanted to, you know, experience it for myself. It felt nice thought because well...umm...having to talk to Fuko like that helped me to...well..." Again, I felt myself blush. Damn it, Fuko. Why did you tell her?

Nagisa only giggled. Then we all stayed silent. After a few awkward minutes, Nagisa spoke up. "Okazaki, tomorrow my family's going on a picnic. I was wondering if maybe you would like to join us. You can bring your family along, and we can all get a chance to meet each other at a nice day at a park. Would you like to join us?"

"Sounds nice. But, wouldn't that mean that your parents will have to make extra food?" I said.

"They wouldn't mind. They are owners of a small bakery."

A bakery with a bread called "Skittles"...

"Well, I mean, as much as I would like to join you, I have to work tomorrow. I guess I didn't tell you that I have a job that I only work for during the weekends. I might not have time to go unless...what time are you thinking of doing the picnic?" I said.

"Around noon, but I understand if you can't go. You have work to do and probably your parents are really busy too," Nagisa said.

"But...I will try to find a way to go, I promise I will try."

Nagisa looked at me and smiled. "That's nice, but I would understand if you can't. Maybe some other day.:

No, Nagisa. I will find a way to go with you. After all, I did do it a long time ago when you were in the hospital.

* * *

After school, Nagisa and I met up with Kotomi by the gate and all of us walked home together. It felt nice though. Like Nagisa, it has been a long time since I've walked with friends. But that's the things. Nagisa and Kotomi were only friends. I know that most people were probably now spreading rumors about me being a player and all. But if they wanted the truth, I was only talking with girls because I wanted to bring in some good girls over to Nagisa, so they'll be her friends. And I have to say that I've done a swell job.

As far as I know, Nagisa now had Tomoyo, Sunohara, Kyou, Kotomi, Fuko, and I as her friends. I wouldn't even dream that something as good as thing could happen. Nagisa was never alone again. In her morning classes, Sunohara is with her. During lunch, Sunohara, Tomoyo, and I are with her. During Writing, Kyou and I are with her. During Flex Time, Fuko and I are with her. All of this must be God's doing.

This time around, however, Nagisa had Kotomi and I to walk with her back home. The two girls were actually talking this time with Nagisa being the most talkative, and Kotomi responding back the best she could. I let the girls talk as I trailed behind them, looking at their smiling faces.

"Well, this is my stop," Nagisa said once we reached her street. "I'll be seeing you guys later then. Bye."

We all waved and said out goodbyes and then Kotomi and I were off to drop her at her house. We didn't do much talking, but it didn't bother me. When we reached her home, I began to notice something. Kotomi's house always seemed empty as in no light was coming from the inside to show that someone else was in there. Maybe her parents worked through until night.

"Tomoya, thank you again," Kotomi said as she unlocked her fence.

"No problem," I said. "Oh, and I was meaning to tell you this. The dessert you made for me a while back was really good. You really know how to cook."

Kotomi turned around to face me and smiled. That smile was becoming more and more often.

Kotomi walked through her fence, stopped and turned to me. "Would you like to come in?"

"Uh..." I rejected her offer last time, so night as well accept it. "Sure."

Kotomi lead me into her house which was completely dark. My eyes stung whenever Kotomi turned on a light and brighten up the room we were in: the livingroom. We bother placed our suitcases over on the couch, and she offered me to take a seat.

"I made too much food yesterday. Would you like some?" she asked.

"Umm...sure I guess," I said.

Kotomi exited the room, leaving me behind. I began to examine the living room. It seemed normal, better than my living room I admit. But there was something odd about it. It felt like no one has been here for a long time, just like how my living room would feel to someone else. It was all so neat and clean, and it seemed like it was for show. Maybe this family really liked to be really squeaky clean and perfect.

The Kotomi came back, holding a bowl and a glass of water. She placed the bowl and glass on the table of the living room. "Here you go."

"Thank you," I said as I made my way to my food. It smelled delicious.

As I dug into my food, I noticed Kotomi sitting down on another couch and just stared at me. It felt really creepy, but I tried to ignore it.

"Kotomi, aren't you going to eat?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not now."

I frowned but continued with my eating. Nothing else was said nor done. The rest of the time, we were silent. After who knows how long, I decided to head back to my house.

Kotomi lead me back outside and out from her fence and just stared at me. As I looked into her eyes, I noticed she seemed sad.

"Thank you for the food, Kotomi. Very good as usual," I said.

She said nothing for a while until she spoke up. "I guess I really am oblivious. You can't seem to remember."

"Huh?"

Kotomi stared hard into my eyes. I saw her purple eyes dancing around like if they were trying to tell me something urgent.

"What can't I remember?" I asked.

Kotomi looked away from me. " 'Two days ago, I saw a rabbit. Yesterday, it was a deer. Today...' "

She sniffed.

"...you weren't here."

* * *

**How was it? Tomoya began to realize that his job of getting Nagisa friends is going along really well. But his job at remembering whatever Kotomi wants him to remember isn't that great. What is Tomoya forgetting that seems to important to Kotomi? Hmm. Review, comment, and favorite for more chapters. Thank you. ^-^**


	14. Chapter 13

**Here's Chapter 13! Finally, right? I'm sorry this one took forever but since it's the end of my senior year of high school, I've been doing a lot of stuff before leaving off into the real world. But I won't forget about this. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 13**

Last night, I couldn't stop thinking about Kotomi. I couldn't sleep well because of her. I even dreamed about her when I did sleep. Her voice, her body, her eyes, they were all glued on me.

" 'Two days ago, I saw a rabbit. Yesterday, it was a deer. Today, you weren't here' "

That was what she said before I left. What did she mean? What was she trying to tell me? What couldn't I remember? I knew I had a strange feeling about Kotomi. Sometime, somewhere long ago, I probably met her, but nothing sparked my mind.

Because thinking about all this made me lose sleep, I woke up extra early and went to work extra early, hoping I could get out extra early. I knew I was slacking off since I blanked out at times when people would come up to me to place their order.

I worked as a cashier in a fast food restaurant. Sometimes, I would work on the drive-thru or in the kitchen area, but I was usually up in the cashier. It's not a hard job, but it can get boring at times.

"Tomoya, can I have a word with you?" my manager called out. I sighed and switched out places with some new girl as I walked towards a big, buff guy who leas me into his office.

"What do you think you're doing? This is not the time to be slacking off," he said, and I knew he was angry.

I rubbed my eyes. "Sorry, sir. I didn't get enough sleep last night."

My manager crossed his arms over his chest. "You also got here a bit too early. That's very surprising coming from you."

I shrugged.

"You usually came in late when you didn't sleep well. How come you changed that today?" he asked.

"Well, to be honest with you, sir, a friend of mine invited me to a picnic with her family today, but I had to sorta cancel it because I have work today. But I thought that coming in earlier would give me the opportunity to get out earlier, so I can go. But I guess that's not going to happen since I messed that up for me," I yawned.

My manager only looked at me and then sighed. "You haven't been out with friends have you, Tomoya?"

I shook my head.

"Plus, you said your friend invited you to have a picnic with her family, right?"

I nodded.

"Hmm...you might be able to experience the way a close family is. Look, Tomoya, you can take the day off. You haven't been missing in a while, and you're doing this because of something reasonable."

"I really can't believe that you trust me," I said a bit shocked. I didn't even have to lie this time.

He just smiled. "Besides, you've done a lot today. Now go before I change my mind."

I smiled. Thank God.

* * *

I rushed over to Nagisa'a house as fast as I could. I looked down to my watch and noticed it was a few minutes passed noon. I wondered if they left already.

As I reached the fence and pressed the button, I suddenly saw the Furukawa family walk out from the house. Nagisa noticed me and smiled.

"Okazaki, you came!" she said.

I huffed as I tried to catch my breath but smiled. Nagisa ran up to me.

"You didn't skip work, did you?" she asked.

"No. I was excused," I said.

"Yay!"

"Hey, hey, hey! What is he doing here?!"

In a flash, Mr. Furukawa rushed up to me and stuck a baseball bat in front of my face. His cigarette in his mouth burned.

"Dad, I told you I invited Okazaki and his family over if they could attend," Nagisa said.

"Akio, remember we talked about this yesterday. Remember we made extra food," Sanae said as she gently walked over to us and held tightly on a picnic basket. Akio, the dad's name, growled at me a backed away.

"Fine," he said.

Sanae smiled to me. "Hello Tomoya. I'm glad that you were able to come. Where is your family?"

I sighed. "They...they couldn't make it. They had work to do."

"Oh, that's too bad."

Akio walked ahead. "Come on! We already wasted time!"

With that, we all headed towards a nearby park. Nagisa and Sanae placed down a blanket and organized the food on it. We all sat down and began to just enjoy each others company as time passed before us. I would spend some time examining this family. They might be the strangest yet, but they looked well. They all loved each other. I wished I had a family like that.

After eating, Akio grouped up a bunch of little kids that were in the park and started a game of baseball.

"Look, Sanae! This hit's going to be for you!" Akio said as he was up to bat.

"Give them a good fight!" Sanae cheered.

It was strange seeing a grown man play baseball with little kids, but he seemed happy enough.

From the blanket, Nagisa, Sanae, and I were sitting on, we all saw a tremendous hit made by Akio that sent the ball flying out from the park.

"Yeah!" Akio yelled and made himself a home run. "Did you see that, Sanae?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Sanae said with a big smile.

"Do you love me all over again?"

"I fell for you once more, dear."

Akio laughed and rushed over to hug Sanae. That actually made me smile. He really loved his wife.

"Hey, it's your turn, kid," he said.

"What? But I can't-" I began saying.

"Don't tell me you're scared of getting your ass kicked by little kids!"

I grunted. So, I decided to just hit or at least try to hit one hit even with my injured shoulder. Sure. No problem at all...

I took the bat and looked at the boy who was the pitcher. He smirked and threw the ball.

"Strike one!" the kid from behind shouted.

"Come on, Tomoya! Don't make me lose!" Akio shouted.

I growled.

The pitcher threw another ball and...

"Strike two!"

"Come one, doofus! Hit one!" Akio shouted again.

I can't hit a fucking ball with my injured shoulder!

"Come on, Tomoya! Give them a good fight," Sanae called out.

"You can do it, Okazaki!" Nagisa cheered.

Well, I actually never felt this way before. No one has ever encouraged me. That's why I never did anything. But this time...

"Yeah! Run, boy, run!"

"Go Tomoya!"

"Go Okazaki!"

I hit a home run. I actually hit a home run. With an injured shoulder...

"Nagisa, did you see that?" I said as I ran around the bases.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Nagisa smiled.

"Do you love him all over again?" I heard Akio said.

"I...ah...Dad!" Nagisa stuttered.

I reached the last base and walked over to the family to catch my breath.

"What?! What did I just-urgh!" Akio pulled at his hair.

I only smirked.

* * *

"I'm glad that you were able to join us," Nagisa said.

"I'm glad that you invited me," I said.

Nagisa and I were walking over to my house right after we finished the picnic.

"You know what I just thought of? Maybe one day we can all go have a day out with Tomoyo, Sunohara, Kyou, and Kotomi," Nagisa said.

"That sounds fun," I said.

"You know what? I never thought I would have to call out all those names or even suggest to hang out with them."

"You're a nice girl, Nagisa. It shouldn't be a surprise for someone like you to have so much friends."

"It's just that I never thought something like this would happen to a girl like me."

"Nagisa," I stopped walking and made her face me. "You need to learn how to be confident with yourself. Nice people like you deserve to have great friends."

Nagisa looked at me and smiled. "Okay. I'll be more confident."

"Good to hear it. But now we got to stop here."

Nagisa looked around. "This isn't your house. We're in the middle of the street."

"I know. I can walk home alone from here. I don't want you to go back home all on your own for a long time," I said.

"Okay. I'll see you on Monday, Okazaki."

We both waved to each other and went our separate ways.

I sighed. Man, today was a tiring day. Because I didn't get enough sleep last night, I was really exhausted from playing baseball with Akio and some kids. And now that I was a bit relaxed, I could feel my shoulder aching. Great.

Suddenly, a white rabbit hops right in front of me almost causing me to trip over it. It then looked at me then hopped away into a bush. For some reason, I felt my legs carry me towards the rabbit. Once I reached the bush and looked around for the rabbit, a white deer suddenly appeared, so magical and angelic, It galloped away down the street, and I followed. Was I the only one seeing this?

The deer leaped and landed up on a beautiful lawn. I walked around and noticed a small, circular table and two chairs in the middle. Where was I? But then I noticed someone looking at me. I slowly turned myself around and looked at the girl standing there by a screen door. Her purple eyes shined.

" 'Two days ago, I saw a rabbit. Yesterday, it was a deer. Today, it's you,' " she said.

"Kotomi..." I whispered.

Suddenly, memories flashed before my eyes. I remembered me as a little boy, running into a lawn by accident because I was looking for my lost ball.

"Kotomi..."

I remembered seeing a little girl who saw me searching through her lawn.

"Kotomi..."

I remembered a little girl greeting me and we suddenly became friends.

"Kotomi..."

I remembered a little girl telling me all her secrets, and I did the same. We were like brother and sister.

"Kotomi..."

"Tomoya-kun..." she whispered as she gave me a huge smile.

I rushed up to her and embraced her. "Kotomi, I remember now! Kotomi, I remember! I remember!" I felt myself sob.

"You've come back, Tomoya-kun," she said.

This girl has been waiting for me all this time.

* * *

**And so, Tomoya finally remembered Kotomi. FINALLY! He made poor Kotomi suffer. I would be sad if my best friend didn't remember me. How awful. Anyway, please review, comment, favorite my story for more chapters to come. Thank you. ^-^**


	15. Chapter 14

**Here's Chapter 14, a whole lot sooner than Chapter 13. Read and enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 14**

"Kotomi, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't remember you," I said, still hugging her.

"It's okay, Tomoya-kun. All I wanted was to see you again after so many years," she said.

I separated myself from her and looked at her eyes. Her gorgeous purple eyes. "Kotomi…it's really been a while." I looked down at the clothing she was wearing. She had a plain, white dress, almost made her angelic. "You were heading somewhere?"

"I was going to take a walk," she said.

"Can I go with you?"

"Sure."

And so, I held out my hand for her to grab it. Kotomi held on and we both went out for our walk together under the setting sun.

"Kotomi, how have you've been all this time?" I asked.

"To be honest, I've been a bit lonely," she said. "I've only lived in this house alone, been to school with no one knowing me, just been living like I had no purpose in this world anymore."

I bit my lip. "I'm so sorry, Kotomi. I know this is all my fault for ever leaving you."

"I understand, Tomoya-kun."

"No. I'm being serious. That day, the day of your birthday, I was supposed to go to your party that you invited me and bring others along. But…I never showed up…"

"I always thought of reason of why you never came. I thought it was because you never really liked me…"

"Why would I never like a girl like you? You were the first girl to ever be nice to me. How could I not like you?"

"Then what was your reason?"

I sighed and looked down to my feet as I walked. "I was too embarrassed to show up because the people I told you I was going to invite didn't want to come, so I didn't want to show up, only being myself."

There was silence for a while.

"I know that was a stupid reason, and I shouldn't have walked away. I really did want to go, but I was too embarrassed. I'm sorry, Kotomi," I said.

"Well, that's a relief," she said. "All this time, I thought it was because you didn't like me."

"It could never be that. You are a very good girl."

Kotomi giggled. "I'm glad."

"But seriously, I'm not sure why I didn't go back to see you. I guess I was too scared of what you would've told me."

"I could never be mad at you, Tomoya-kun."

"I guess you should've told me that before, "I joked.

"I guess that I should've," she smiled.

Silence once more.

"Honestly, all I wanted was for you to come back so we could've played or read together or even catch some fireflies. I didn't cared about others not wanting to be with me. All I wanted was you," Kotomi said.

I looked at her.

"After that accident, I told Mr. Akira...wait, do you remember Mr. Akira?" she said.

"Is it the guy who took care of you after your parents..." I stopped before I said something I shouldn't.

"...died. Yes. It's him. The one that used to play with us, pretended to be the bad guy while I was the damsel in distress and you were the knight in shining armor," Kotomi said with a faint smile.

"Oh yeah. I remember."

"So, I told Mr. Akira to take me to school because I haven't gone in a long time after the death of my parents. I wanted to see the world beyond my house, I wanted to see you again. But I wasn't transferred into your school because I never saw you. But I knew that if I studied hard every day even if my head exploded, I would become someone in my life that my parents always wanted me to be and maybe someday I can make up a device that would help me find you...silly isn't it?" Kotomi said as she looked up to the sky.

"That's...not silly at all," I whispered.

Kotomi giggled softly. "I was always socially awkward, so I never had any friends. But with my books, I never thought I needed someone else, yet at the same time, I always thought of you, of one day you coming back to see me, but it never happened. Then, on my first day of high school, I was transferred to the high school I am now, with the same focus as before. But the admissions looked at my record and noticed that I wasn't required to take anymore classes, and I could skip classes if I wished. That's when I was identified as a genius. So I decided to not take classes and stay in the library, reading and studying for the tests I had to take to pass on to the next grade. That was the only time when I saw other students."

She paused and stopped walking, so I stopped as well, keeping my focus on her.

"That was how my high school years went. Just me and my books. Senior year came by, and it was just the same until that day came..." Kotomi looked at me and smiled. "That day that I saw you for the first time after so many years. At first, I thought you were just another guy but after examining you for a bit and built up the courage to ask you your name, I felt my heart leap with joy."

I smiled down to her.

"I wondered if you recognized me by my name, but you didn't at the first try. I didn't let my hopes down, so I decided to give you more time for you to acknowledge me. I took you inside my house to see if maybe that would spark something in you but not even that did the trick. I had the feeling that you really forgotten me, like I was never that important to you yet...I was relieved that you wanted to be my friend. After so many years, you still wanted me to be your friend, just like when we first met. That small hope was the one thing that kept me going, thinking that one day you would remember me. And...you did."

Kotomi held onto my arm tightly and snuggled against it. I placed my hand gently on top of her head and comforted her.

"I'm glad I did. I'm still so sorry for not remembering sooner," I said.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you did," she said. "Thank you, Tomoya-kun."

We stood there for a while, just enjoying each other's warmth, saying nothing. When the sun finally set, we started to head back to her house.

"What about you, Tomoya? How have you been?" Kotomi asked, still holding my arm.

"You know, just here and there. Nothing much really," I said.

"How are you sustaining yourself? I mean, because your parents are..."

"Oh that's right. You're the other person who knows about it. Well, yeah, I'm living on my own."

"On your own?" Kotomi looked up to me. "Don't you have a guardian or something?"

"No. It's only been me all these years. I'm only thankful that my family members far away are sending me money every month. I got myself a job to help get myself some money to pay for my needs because the money I receive is only for paying the bills," I said.

"But even so, after all these years? Hasn't any of your family members visited you?"

"No. They live too far away to come plus they don't have the documents needed to come into this country."

"They're that far away?"

"Yeah."

"Oh Tomoya, if you only would've told me sooner. I could've helped you."

"I didn't want to make you feel like it was your responsibility to take care of me. Besides, you have Mr. Akira. I don't think he would want to take care of two kids."

"Mr. Akira! That's right! Why didn't I think of this earlier? I could tell him to check up on you too."

I pushed Kotomi away from my arm just a bit and shook my head. "Don't. It's okay really. I've live this long without someone else looking after me."

"No," Kotomi shook her head. "You must be very lonely being at your house all the time, and it must be really hard to keep up with the house. Please let me help you. It's the least I can do."

I looked down at Kotomi. She seemed really determined. I sighed. "Fine. If that's really what you want."

"Of course!" Kotomi smiled.

After that, we walked back to her house with the moonlight guiding us.

"Mr. Akira will arrive soon to check up on me. Do you want to stay a bit longer, so we can both talk to him?" she said.

"Er...actually, I don't. I'll feel weird by just being here because I still don't want to make him think he was to take responsiblity for me," I said.

"Nonsense. I'm telling you he'll be glad to help. Once I mention you, he'll be as determined as I am to help you because he knows just how important you are to me."

"Well, I guess. But I still will feel weird. How about you tell him, and other you give me the news. To be honest, I'm exhausted from today and all I want to do is go home and sleep. Plus I have work tomorrow, so I have to wake up early."

"I understand. But once Mr. Akira agrees, the both if us are going to be checking up on you," Kotomi giggled.

I smiled. "I guess that means I'm going to be checking up on you too."

"That'll be nice."

We stood by her entrance for a while without saying anything.

"Well, uh, I guess I'll be going now. Thank for letting me walk with you," I said.

"Thank you for walking with me," Kotomi said. "And...for being my friend again and for introducing me to a very sweet girl, Nagisa. Maybe you can help me gather some friends from now on. I want to meet more nice people."

I smiled. "Of course."

With that, we waved at each other and said our goodbyes. I took a moment to look back at Kotomi who stood by her door way. She looked very beautiful. Her smiling face was a sight to see. Her wonderful navy blue hair swayed gently with the cool breeze along with her white dress that seemed to glow.

There she was. My childhood friend.

* * *

**How was it? Kotomi and Tomoya were finally reunited and talked about each other's histories. Okay, so Tomoya is living on his own. He has no paretns whatsoever. Just bare with me on this one. I really didn't know what I was thinking but it was worth a shot. Review, comment, and favorite for more chapters. Thank you. ^-^**


	16. Chapter 15

**Well, I finally was able to get around Chapter 15. I'm sorry for making you all wait. Read and enjoy. ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 15**

Monday. How I hate Monday. This weekend was nothing bit being tired and work, work, work. I yawned as I headed towards my desk and sat down.

Hey Tomoya," I heard Sunohara said.

I turned to him. "Hey."

"Tired too huh?" Sunohara said as he sat down at his desk.

"Yeah," Then I noticed a wooden star at his desk. "Nice star."

"Uh thanks."

I yawned and turned towards my window. It was such a nice day to be outside...

"Wait! Where did you get that star?" I quickly turned around to the blonde.

"Oh? Well, some underclassmen came up to me, a little girl, and handed it to me saying it was an invitation to her sister's wedding. I've never seen her before but whatever," he said.

"A little girl?"

"Yeah. I guess she was a freshman or something from the uniform she was wearing. What? You jealous that I received a gift first?"

I didn't say anything and turned back to my window. This was so confusing. I have to tell this to Nagisa.

* * *

This time, both me and Nagisa thought it was a nice idea to have everyone eat lunch together. We gathered Kotomi and Kyou and lead them to where Sunohara and Tomoya were. We all ate together, having a good time, enjoying each others' company. I helped Kotomi with her shyness and introduced everyone else to her. We all became friends in that instant, and it really felt nice.

Once lunch was over, Nagisa, Kyou, Sunohara, and I were walking to Writing class while Kotomi and Tomoyo went their separate ways.

While we were walking, however, someone bumped into me, and I could feel it wasn't accidental. I turned over to see a familiar orange head walking away. Suddenly, I felt a rough hand grab onto my wrist.

"Sunohara, Nagisa," Kyou began. Sunohara and Nagisa both turned around. "Tomoya and I forgot something back in our lunch area. You guys can go ahead and tell Nowak that we're going to be late, but we'll give her a note."

"We did-" I began to say but got interrupted with Kyou stepping on my toes.

Sunohara shrugged but seemed satisfied. "Come on, Nagisa. Let's head to Writing class and talk more about love."

Nagisa was uncertain, but she walked away with Sunohara.

I still don't understand the motives of that boy. Wasn't he trying to get with Tomoyo?

"Come on, Tomoya," Kyou said, pulling me away.

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked.

"I saw Ichigo bumping into you, and you bumped into me. We gotta go clear some things with him."

"Right now?"

"Why not? Let's make him late to class too."

"You really are-"

"Ichigo!" Kyou yelled and pulled me away with her as we both caught up with the orange head. She let go of me and she grabbed Ichigo by the collar and pushed him against a wall. Luckily, we were away from any human contact.

"You want to pick a fight, huh?" Kyou growled.

"W-what?" Ichigo stuttered.

"You know what. We now know everything, everything that you did to Nagisa that day."

Ichigo growled. "She told you?"

"No," I stepped in. I knew that if we told him Nagisa told us, he's going to continue threathing her.

"No. An eyewitness told us. I guess that you didn't really kept your talk with her private as you thought you did," I said.

Ichigo hesitated. "An eyewitness? Who was it?"

"They wanted to keep themselves anonymous. But either way, we know everything you told her, and we can easily report you."

Kyou looked at me and smiled. Sh knew just where I was heading. She placed more pressure on Ichigo's collar. "Yeah, mister suicide! If you continue telling poor Nagisa that shit, you're so going to get it!"

"You're cornered, Ichigo. If I were you, I would give up and apologize to Nagisa," I said.

Ichigo said nothing for a while until he nodded. "Okay. I'll apologize to her."

"And don't only apologize to her, don't ever bother her again with shit like that," Kyou said.

"Okay, okay. I won't," he said. "Can you let me go now?"

Kyou let him go and grunted. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. "Come on, Tomoya."

* * *

So, with having Ichigo trembling in his shoes, I felt satisfied. When a person is scared, they would so anything to feel secure again. So, I didn't have any doubt that Ichigo would come to his senses and apologize to Nagisa.

It was Flex Time again, and Nagisa, Fuko, and I were hanging around as usual.

"Nagisa, I have to tell you something," I said.

"Yes?" she said.

"This morning, I saw Sunohara with a wooden star. Did you give it to him?"

"Oh? I didn't know he had one too."

"Too? What do you mean?"

Nagisa smiled. "Fuko has had enough strength in her to make herself visible to others. It was first me then she moved up levels until almost everyone in the freshman class could see her. Isn't that wonderful?"

I had my jaw wide open. No freakin' way.

"I guess Fuko was also able to let herself become visible with other upperclassmen such as Sunohara. She says she's been working really hard on these stars for a long time, and she says that some forced like faith is helping her become visible, so she will be able to give out the invitations for her sister's wedding. And-" Nagisa looks down to the empty chair. She giggled. "And that feeling the strong bonds between our group of friends had made her stronger herself as well like she's part of us."

This was amazing. So Fuko was real. Now others know about her, yet I still couldn't see her.

"So then-" I began to say until someone's footsteps were heard.

"Tomoya? Oh. There you are."

I turned around and saw Tomoyo. She waved to Nagisa who waved back.

"Hey Tomoyo. Do you need something?" I asked.

"I need to borrow you for a while if you don't mind," she said.

"Sure."

"Nagisa, please excuse me for taking him for a while. I only need a strong guy to help me carry something. I'll make sure not to keep him for too long."

"Oh that's okay. I don't mind," Nagisa said.

Tomoyo smiled. "Well, come Tomoya. We have lots of work to do."

I nodded. "Nagisa, you wouldn't mind taking care of my stuff, would you?"

Nagisa shook her head. "Of course not."

I smiled to her and walked a few steps with Tomoyo until she stopped and turned around. "Hmm?"

I looked at her. She seemed to be looking down.

"Oh. I didn't see you there. Sorry about that. Huh?" Tomoyo said.

Suddenly, she held onto a wooden star like magic.

"An invitation? For your sister's wedding? I'm only a transfer student, so I apologize for not knowing her. But I will see if I'm able to attend," Tomoyo continued to talk. But it wasn't to Nagisa.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

Silence.

"Fuko? Well, thank you, Fuko. I'll see if I'll be able, okay? Thank you and good-bye. Hope to see you soon."

Tomoyo walked away and I followed. She held tightly onto her star. "She seemed like a nice girl and very talented. Even I couldn't make a star like this."

This is strange. Tomoyo could see Fuko, but I couldn't.

After a few minutes, we arrived at a classroom. When we entered, we saw Kyou sitting on a desk ad Sunohara leaning against a wall with his head limp.

"Oh? You went off and got yourself Tomoya, huh?" Kyou smirked.

Tomoyo said nothing and walked over to a large desk with three piles of papers. I walked over to Kyou.

"So, this is where you've been all this time?" I asked.

"Where else? Tomoyo and I are good friends plus I'm helping her with her campaign," Kyou said.

"You know about that?"

"Duh! I'm not clueless, you know."

"Kyou, Tomoya," Tomoyo said. Kyou and I turned over to her. To me, Tomoyo looked so professional for some reason. "As you all know, this morning, the candidates for student council were announced. I, being one of them, am running for the place for president. The other candidates have already started campaigning by putting up posters all around school. I don't want to be left behind, so I made myself all these posters to hang around. I need as much help as I can to put all of them up by the end of today. Would you guys help me out?"

Kyou smiled. "Sure we can. I am part of your campaign committee. I'll help you as much as I can."

"I'll help too," I said. "I want you to win, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo smiled. "Thank you so much. Well, we should start-up now. Here are three stacks of posters, one for each. I hope they're not heavy."

"Nonsense," Kyou said as she carried one stack. "Heavy or not, we'll help you. Right, Tomoya?" Kyou passed by me and gave me a push on my arm before exiting.

"Y-yeah. I wouldn't mind helping you," I said, rubbing my injured arm.

Tomoyo smiled. "Thank you, Tomoya. Sunohara was supposed to help me, but he did something he shouldn't have."

We both looked at the injured blond boy. I should've known.

"So, I guess this is where he has headed during Flex Time, huh?" I said.

"Ever since we met. The same with Kyou. They're been helping me plan on what to do during this month of campaign," Tomoyo said.

I carried my stack of posters. "They're like your little crew."

Tomoyo carried her stack and giggled. "You can say that."

We were off, leaving Sunohara behind. We separated and each took different sections of the school to put up posters. After a few minutes, I was almost done and just needed to put up one poster. While I was doing it, I noticed from the corner of my eye a spot of orange. I took a peek and saw Ichigo and Nagisa talking down the hallway. I quickly put up the poster and kept my eye on them. If Ichigo did anything bad, I was here to kick his ass. But they both seemed calm. Nagisa was even smiling. They talked for a while until they separated. I walked over to Nagisa.

"Okazaki, you're done?" she said.

"Yeah. Ichigo didn't threaten you this time, did he?" I said.

"Oh,um, no. Actually he apologized to me. He told me he was only nervous and scared that he might lose me. But I made sure that I would never leave him and forgave him."

"Well, I hope he doesn't do something as stupid as that again."

"I'm sure he won't."

"Nagisa, you're so nice."

She smiled. "It's just how my heart works."

* * *

After Flex Time, Nagisa, Kotomi, and I walked together to our homes just as before. The girls talked among themselves while I stayed behind. I didn't mind. I liked to hear their giggles.

Once we dropped off Nagisa, I walked Kotomi over to her house.

"Mr. Fawaya agreed to check up on you," Kotomi said.

"He did?" I said.

"Yes. Once I reminded him of you, his face gleamed of happiness and was delighted to help you out."

"That's nice of him."

"Isn't it?"

We reached her home, said our good byes, and I was off again to my house. Back to my lonely, dark home.

* * *

**So, how was it? Fuko was finally able to show herself to Sunohara and the freshman class. Tomoyo even got to see her. But why not Tomoya, the first person to ever believe Fuko was real? Ichigo seemed too apologize to Nagisa now and should be in good terms (hopefully). And Tomoya got Mr. Fawaya to take care of him now. I wonder how that's going to work out. Well, review, comment, and favorite for more chapters. Thank you. ^-^**


	17. Chapter 16

**Here's Chapter 16. Read and enjoy. ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 16**

Weeks have passed and more and more people are seeing Fuko. People are seem with wooden stars all around campus. Except me. I couldn't find a reason Fuko wouldn't appear for me. Did she thought I was not worth seeing her?

But that must be my own personal problem.

Tomoyo has had a heated battle with all the other candidates running for president. Debates were done and speeches made. Since Tomoyo was the only female running for this position, there were rumors about how no one would vote for her because of her gender which I find it wrong and a bit false because out of the people I know, they seemed to have support for Tomoyo. She has strong points, better than the others I can say. And she has strong will power and strong support. Her crew now consisted of Kyou, Sunohara, Nagisa, Kotomi, Fuko (now that all of them can see her except me) and me. So, she had a good build up.

But then, here I am again, thinking how unfair it was that I couldn't see Fuko even if I was the first one to believe in her.

So, one day, I decided to talk to Nagisa about it.

It was lunch time, and I invited Nagisa to come eat with me. We both ate where we used to eat next to my old desk. We didn't talk much really until I decided to pop in my question.

"Nagisa, why can't I see Fuko?" I asked.

"You can't see her?" she said.

"No, and it's actually bothering me. I'm beginning to think that Fuko was only a set up all this time."

"W-what?"

"I'm serious. Is this a joke for me? Because it sure seems like it. I'm the only one who can't see her. Are all of you playing a joke on me?"

Nagisa gave me her puppy eyes. "No! Of course not! We wouldn't do something like that. Fuko's real, it's just the...I don't understand why you can't see her."

I sighed. "I don't know. Weeks have passed and there's no Fuko for me. You might had really lied to me about her all this time."

"O-Okazaki...I-I wouldn't..."

"Then show me. I want to see Fuko now."

Nagisa hesitated. She began to look around with her eyes watery. Maybe I went a bit too far?

BAM!

I suddenly got hit in the face which caused me to fall from my chair.

"Okazaki!" I heard Nagisa. My vision was a bit blurred and my face hurt like hell.

"You meany!"

I heard an unrecognizable voice of a little girl. I looked up and saw a girl standing before me. She had the freshman uniform, her hair was greyish green, long and tied at the end with a blue bow, and she held a wooden star.

"Huh? I said still a bit hurt from the impact.

"Well, here I am, mister! Are you happy now?" the girl said.

"What?"

"Fuko, you mustn't hit Okazaki like that," Nagisa said. The girl huffed.

"He saw it coming," the girl said.

I rubbed my head.

"I'm so sorry, Okazaki. Fuko hit you, and I'm not sure why. I'm sorry," Nagisa said as she helped me get up.

I only looked down to the girl. She growled to me.

"So what now? I'm Fuko. Now you can see me. Do you want me to make you disappear now?" she said.

"Fuko..."I whispered. My mind was coming back to me.

"Fuko..." She finally became visible to me.

"Fuko..." But I couldn't believe it. I held onto the girl's shoulders and shook her.

"Fuko..."

"Nagisa, he's scaring me," the girl said.

"Is he seeing you?" Nagisa asked.

"Yep. Isn't that what he wanted?"

"Oh. So, now I know. He must be a bit shocked."

"Fuko..." I whispered. This girl I was touching...it really was her...

"Okazaki!"

"Weird guy!"

I remember seeing black after that.

* * *

Stars. Stars everywhere. Nothing but stars. Even I was a star. Just stars...stars...stars...

I slowly began to open my eyes and saw a blank ceiling above me. A familiar scent of medicine hit my nose which caused me to sit up in alert.

"You woke up, Okazaki."

I turned around and saw Nagisa sitting on a chair next to the bed i was on.

"Nagisa, what's going on?" I asked.

"You-"

"And who's that next to you?" I interrupted when I saw another girl sitting next to her.

"Oh. She was the reason you ended up being in the nurse. Do you remember Fuko?"

I looked at the girl named Fuko. Something sounded familiar about that name. Then it hit me.

"Holy shit! So, that's really Fuko? The Fuko that usually hangs around with us?" I said.

Fuko nodded. "Yep. That's me."

I examined her. She was only a little girl.

"Fuko... you finally showed yourself..." I said.

"Yes. But I didn't feel ready yet," she said.

"How come?"

"Well, you see, um, please don't laugh but you asked me to give you an invitation, and I'm not sure if you heard me from last time, but I told you I was going to make you the best one and well...I haven't had time to make yours yet, so if I showed you my true self, I was afraid that you might had gotten mad at me for not giving you the star."

I looked at Fuko who broke the eye contact. I smiled. "I wouldn't get mad at you for that."

Fuko looked back up to me. "Really?"

Nagisa smiled. "See Fuko? I told you he would understand."

"Yeah. All this time, you made me think that you didn't like me at all and was going to make me suffer," I said.

"Oh no. I actually think you're a nice guy. You were the first person to believe in me and Nagisa," Fuko said.

I smiled to Nagisa who smiled back. "I would never doubt her."

Nagisa flushed a bit but continued to smile.

"That's a good friend," Fukoe said. "But then, why did you doubted her earlier? You made me appear and hit you smack on the face for being mean."

I was caught off guard. "Umm...well you see, I was only testing her because well...Oh Nagisa...she's right. I was doubting you, please forgive me."

I got off the bed and got on my knees in front of Nagisa.

"O-oh...it's okay. I understand," Nagisa said.

Fuko giggled. "But you're still a good friend. You ask for forgiveness when you know you've done wrong."

I nodded and looked up at Nagisa. "I wouldn't want to lose her."

Nagisa hesitated which caused me to do the same. What did I just say?

Then, a wooden star was pushed to my face.

"Here. It's not the best, but I put all my heart on it," Fuko said.

I grabbed the star and held it tight. "Thank you, Fuko. Thank you."

* * *

During Flex Time, all of us, Nagisa, Fuko, Kotomi, Sunohara, and Kyou met up in the classroom where we had met up during these past weeks. This was our meeting place for helping Tomoyo with her campaign. However, Tomoyo wasn't there, and we all thought she was off doing another speech as usual. So we were helping Fuko carve up some stars.

"Okazaki," Nagisa whispered to me.

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

"No one else knows the story behind Fuko. They still don't know about her existence."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, no, but it's going to be hard to convince them otherwise. So, can you keep Fuko's history away from the others? At least for now?"

"Sure."

"We must pretend like she's any normal girl."

"Of course."

"Arigato, Okazaki."

"No problem."

And so, for the rest of the time, we all carved and carved stars upon stars and Tomoyo didn't come up at least for a minute. When it was time to go, I helped Nagisa and Fuko bag up stars. Nagisa, Fuko, Kotomi, and I said our good byes to Sunohara and Kyou then walked over to the gate.

"Fuko-chan's going to walk with us today?" Kotomi said.

"Yes. She's actually going to visit my house today," Nagisa said.

"Oh that's nice."

Fuko nodded. I kinda knew where this was heading. Since Fuko was always left at school, I guess since almost everyone could see her, Nagisa would think her parents could see her too.

"Oh wait!" Fuko said as she looked inside a bag of stars. "I can't seem to find my carving knife."

"Maybe you left it back at the classroom," Nagisa said.

"I'll go get it," I said. "Do you mind holding this for a minute?" I handed Nagisa my bags of stars. "I'll be back."

I rushed off towards the entrance of the school and quickly ran towards the entrance of the school and quickly ran towards the classroom. I searched around and found the carving knife. I walked away from the room and down the hallway.

Then I heard crying.

I stopped and listened. Someone was crying close by. I looked around and walked towards the crying. I turned around a corner and there she was. Tomoyo. Crying all to herself.

"Tomoyo, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked as I rushed up to her and got on my knees next to her.

She looked up to me, and I saw her blue eyes filled with tears. "Tomoya..."

I placed my suitcase down next to her and ran away. I ran until I reached the three girls waiting for me by the gate.

"Can you girls walk home together? I'm going to have to stay behind for a while," I said as I handed Fuko her knife.

"Yes, Okazaki. Is everything okay?" Nagisa said.

I took in deep breaths. "I hope so. I'll see you guys later."

With that, I ran back inside the school and back besides Tomoyo.

"Tell me everything, Tomoyo. I'm here to listen."

* * *

**Le gasp! Tomoyo's crying! No! Why? Tomoya better get to the bottom of this. Tomoyo cannot be crying. Anyway, Tomoya was finally able to see Fuko. Yay for Fuko for making Tomoya shut his mouth. Haha. Now the whole crew can see her. I wonder what will happen next. Well, please review, comment, and favorite for mroe chapter. Thank you. ^-^**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey there! Here's Chapter 17. Read and enjoy. ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 17**

"T-Tomoya...I-I'm sorry you have to see me like this..." Tomoyo sobbed. She wiped her tears with her sleeve. I took out a tissue from my pocket and handed it to her.

"It's okay. But please tell me why you're crying," I said.

Tomoyo wiped her tears. "I-I don't want you to get involved."

"But I want to get involved. Please tell me. If you want, I won't tell anyone else."

Tomoyo looked at me. "Would you really listen to me?"

"Of course. I got all the time in the world to listen to a friend."

Tomoyo sighed and hugged her knees. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to make it to the classroom today. I had a conflict with some guys."

"What did they do to you?"

"They've actually been bothering me for a while. Ever since I was gaining popularity as a candidate for president, they've spread rumors about me. You know, that because I'm a strong fighter, I would be a hostile president because I'll just be beating people if they would make me mad. Also, because I'm a female, that I will be a communist feminist, allowing only girls to have all the rights while boys get tortured."

"But you know that's not true. Many others know that's false."

"It's not working. Those rumors are starting to affect my chances of winning. Fewer people are starting to listen to what I have to say."

"But isn't it against the rules to be attacking the other candidates? Shouldn't you be reporting this?"

Tomoyo began to sob. "That's what I've tried to do! However, the rules only say that if a candidate attacks another, that's when they can be disqualified. But these guys aren't candidates. And even if I report them, they said they would still attack me because...a girl shouldn't be allowed to be a leader..."

Tomoyo cried again. This time I wrapped an arm around her.

"That's just messed up. Just because you're a girl, they would do anything to stop you from winning?" I said.

"And...and...I'm only trying to do the best I-I can for this school. I don't want to...only run to become popular...I want this school to have what I know it deserves. I-I've always wanted to be a student council president...but I was always put down because I was a girl..." she sobbed.

She cried and cried, and I only held her tight. This school is so fucked up. So sexist.

"So then, let's do something about it," I said.

Tomoyo looked up to me. "W-what?"

"We gotta report the. I'm pretty sure those guys can get a real bad punishment even if their not candidates. We can go tell the principal about how sexist they are for not letting a girl with an equal amount of chance of winning to win."

"But Tomoya, those guys are like hawks. They've been keeping an eye on me and never letting me go. They would do as much harm as they can before they get in trouble."

I shook my head and lend out a hand to Tomoyo. "Come on, let's see them try."

Tomoyo looked at me for a while. I could tell from her eyes that she was a bit worried. But she grabbed my hand and I pulled her up. I took another tissue and wiped her remaining tears.

"I'm pretty sure we'll get the upper part here," I said. "Let's go."

I held onto her hand as I grabbed my suitcase and pulled her towards the office.

* * *

After a talk with the principal, Tomoyo and I were able to convince him to punish the trouble makers. The principal made sure to break up any more rumors being put out there. With that, the both of us walked out from the school, being successful.

"Thank you, Tomoya," Tomoyo said with a smile.

"No problem. I had to help a friend out," I said, smiling back.

Tomoyo sighed of relief. "I feel like a weight just came off me."

"Doesn't it feel good now that the problem is taken care of?"

"Yes." Tomoyo looked at me. "Thank you again."

"It's not problem."

We stood by the gate for a while just looking into each others' eyes. Until Tomoyo broke contact. "Well, not I gotta go home. I'll see you later, Tomoya."

Tomoyo waved and walked away, and I walked on my way. I looked up to the faint vision of the moon and made me remember Tomoyo's grey hair.

* * *

**Ugh. This had to be the second shortest chapter I ever written (besides from chapter 2). Well, Tomoyo was being picked on because of her gender. Bleh! How disgusting. If I had to choice, Tomoyo would be my first choice as president. She deserves to be it. Those jerks who think that a girl can't be leaders. How disgusting. But Tomoya was able to help her out. Yay! Well, please review, comment, and favorite for more chapters. Thank you. ^-^**


	19. Chapter 18

**Good news, guys! I was able to get my aunt to get me my work over to where I am and now I'll be able to type the rest of this story. Yay!**

**Here's chapter 18. We'll be able to see what happened with the student council elections. Will Tomoyo win? Don't know. Enjoy. ^-^**

* * *

**Ch. 18**

"Nagisa, you don't have to worry about Orange. I'm having the responsibility of taking care of him. He won't be bothering you any longer," Fuko said as she played around with her star.

Nagisa smiled. "Well, that's nice. But he hasn't been bothering me lately."

"But just in case, I have him covered."

"Excuse me, but who's Orange?" I asked.

"Ichigo," the girls said simutaneously.

"Oh. Gotcha."

The girls giggled. We were all at our old hang out spot under the stairs. Everyone else was organizing or getting themselves ready for the announcing of the new student council body. Today was the day.

"Tomoya! Nagisa! Fuko!"

Suddenly, a familiar purple head rushed in on us.

"Hello Kyou," we all said.

"Hey there! What are you guys doing here? They're about to announce the winner!" Kyou said.

With that, we all followed Kyou out into the hallway and into the lobby where a bunch of student were already gathered.

"Come on. Kotomi and Sunohara are over here," Kyou said as she guided us towards them. "Here we are!"

"Hello," Kotomi said.

" 'Sup?" Sunohara said.

"There are a lot of students gathered around," Nagisa said.

"Isn't it exciting?" Kyou said.

"Maybe I can hand out stars to the student who haven't gotten one," Fuko said.

"Not a bad idea. I'll help," Sunohara said.

I looked around for a familiar hue of grey. "Where's Tomoyo?"

"She must be nervous. This is her dream," Nagisa said.

"I'm gonna go look for her."

"Good luck and tell her we're here."

"Yeah."

I smiled and walked away. Now, if I was Tomoyo, where would I be? Practically everywhere. Darn. But maybe she's at the classroom where she did all her planning. I headed towards the classroom and lookey here...there she was.

"Hey Tomoyo," I said as I walked over to her. She was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. She looked up to me.

"Hey," she said.

"Why aren't you in the lobby where all the others are?"

"I'm too nervous. What if I don't win? Everyone's going to laugh at me and point fingers."

I got a chair and sat next to her. "Why would anyone do that? And even if they do, you have your friends to defend you."

She smiled. "Thank you. Even so, I still want to take the news by myself."

"You won't mind if a friend joins you?"

Tomoyo looked at me with her blue eyes. "Tomoya..." She sighed and looked up to the speaker that will soon announce the results. "You know, I've always wanted to have my voice heard and speak out the problems of others who want their voices heard. I've wanted to do what I can do for the good of this school because I know it deserves the best. But there's also something I want to do for myself, my little selfish need."

I looked at her. "And that is?"

"The cherry trees. Did you know they want to cut them down, the cherry trees surrounding the school?"

"What Seriously?"

"Yes, and I want to stop that. I've had students begging for me to save the trees and I plan to do it. I want to preserve the trees even if it means putting my life on the line."

I looked at Tomoyo. She looked like any other girl who wanted to win badly the presidency. But she isn't. She had high dreams for herself and for everyone around her. She wanted the best for everyone, and I knew she was going to accomplish everything she has said. She's a tough girl who's hard to bring down.

"Tomoyo..."

"The results are in! We will now announce the new student council body," a girl said through the speakers.

We both looked up to it.

"Here it goes..." Tomoyo said as she began to shake. I knew she was extremely nervous, so I held her hand.

"Don't worry," I said. She looked at me and held my hand tightly.

"First, we're going to announce the new student council president. The new student council president is..." the speaker said.

"Oh God..." Tomoyo gasped and held my hand really tight, so tight I could feel my blood stop circulating.

"...Tomoyo Sakagami!"

"Oh my God!" Tomoyo gasped loudly.

"Tomoyo, you won! You won!" I smiled.

Tomoyo released my hand, looking pale from her shock.

"Tomoyo, you won. Aren't you happy?" I said.

"I won. I really won," she whispered.

"Yeah. You did. Congrats."

Tomoyo sighed of relief, bring back her color. "I really won." She looked at me. "Thank you so much."

"For what? This was all your doing."

"For supporting me. I thank all of my friends for supporting me . Without you guys, none of this would've been possible. Especially without you, Tomoya. You've helped me overcome a very difficult obstacle a few days ago. Thank you for always being by my side."

"No problem. That's what friends do, right?"

Tomoyo smiled. She turned away for a while and then turned back to me. Her cheeks were a bit pink. "Tomoya, I...I want to..." Her face leaned closer to mine.

"Tomoyo..." I said, a bit surprised. I noticed Tomoyo's eyes completely focused on my lips. Was she thinking what I think she was thinking?

"Tomoya..." Tomoyo said as she kept getting closer.

Just then, I found myself leaning towards her. I wasn't sure why, but I got closer and closer to her. I felt my face get hot all of a sudden.

Our lips were only a few centimeters away. I hesitated. What am I doing? Why do I feel the urge to kiss Tomoyo? Do I really hold feelings for her? I was completely clueless on what I was doing, but I did it either way.

Our lips touched, and we began to kiss. Not very passionately but enough for me to feel a great sensation and taste the blueberry on her lips. It was sweet and nice despite my hatred for blueberries. I found myself wanting to explore more of Tomoyo's mouth and tried to slip my tongue through her...

"There you are!"

Tomoyo and I quickly separated. We turned around and saw Kyou and the others enter the classroom.

Kyou rushed over to Tomoyo and grabbed her hands. "You did it! Congrats!"

"Congratulations!" the others said.

"Thank you so much. But this achievement is all ours. We all did this together," Tomoyo said calmly to my surprise.

Kyou looked from Tomoyo to me. "Both of your faces are pink. Are you guys hot or something?"

I hesitated and looked away, keeping my blush hidden.

"Yes. We were both anxious about the results. It got us all worked up," Tomoyo said.

I could only nod.

"Let's have a star party!" Fuko said, throwing the stars she was holding up to the ceiling. Thank God they all landed safely without anyone getting hurt. Someone needs to get those wooden stars away from Fuko when she plans to throw them anywhere.

* * *

"Okazaki, you wouldn't mind coming over to my house, would you?" Nagisa said.

"I wouldn't mind," I said. "Kotomi, you wouldn't mind walking home by yourself, would you?"

"Of course not. You two can go on ahead," Kotomi said.

Nagisa, Kotomi, Fuko and I were walking home together until we reached our stop, and Kotomi went on her own way.

"Tomoya-kun, remember that today's Friday and Mr. Fawaya is going to check up on you," Kotomi said before leaving.

"Thanks for reminding me," I said.

With that, we said our good byes, and I followed Nagisa and Fuko to Nagisa's house.

"So, were your parents able to see Fuko?" I said, looking at Fuko who was walking ahead of us.

"Yes. I explained to them the situation, and they took it very well," Nagisa said.

"Fuko's now able to live with you?"

"Yes. I'm glad because she;s been living in the school all by herself. But because she found strength, she was able to show herself to people."

"That's nice."

And that was the only conversation we had on our walk. I don't know, but I was guessing that what happened between me and Tomoyo was making me feel uneasy with Nagisa. I wasn't sure why.

* * *

"What is he doing here?!"

Once I took a step inside the house, I was harassed by a very impossible man.

"Dad, remember we talked about this," Nagisa said.

"Yes dear," Sanae said. "We were going to have a talk with him, remember?"

Akio huffed and backed away from me. "That's right."

"Pardon me, but is the bathroom ready? I want to take a shower," Fuko said.

"Yes dear. The bathroom's all yours," Sanae said.

Fuko smiled and walked away into a door. After a few seconds, Akio grabbed my collar and pulled my away.

"You're in so much trouble, kid," he said.

Akio pulled me into the dining room and sat me down on a chair on the table. He took the seat in front of me. Not intimidating or anything...

"What did I do wrong?" I said.

Sanae and Nagisa entered with Sanae sitting on my left and Nagisa on my right.

"You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you did the opposite," Sanae said.

"What are you talking about, Sanae? He's the one who's been bothering my little girl," Akio said.

"No, dad. It's not him," Nagisa said.

"It isn't? Then why the hell is he doing here?"

"I'll start it off, so you can remember, dear," Sanae said. She smiled to me. "We want to thank you, Tomoya, for being Nagisa's friend."

"Uh, you're welcome?" I said.

"Wait, is that what we're suppose to talk about?" Akio said.

"Yes dear," Sanae said.

"Oh."

Silence.

Very awkward silence.

Akio crossed his arms over his chest. I was actually expecting for him to say something else, and I guessed that's why Sanae and Nagisa were waiting for something too.

"Anyway," Sanae began, "we are just very grateful that you became Nagisa's friend even after her awful accident. Nagisa was never good with keeping good friends by her side. We knew she tried so hard to be nice to everyone so maybe someone would take her seriously and became close with her."

"Yeah," Akio spoke. "Snotty little punks had pretended to be Nagisa's friends, but they all betrayed her in the end when she needed them the most. They all took advantage of her, used her like a tissue to wipe up their messes and throw her away when they were through with her. So..." Akio stood up from his seat and pointed an accusing finger at me. "...if you're one of those jerks who's just waiting to take advantage of her, I will use your head as a baseball! I know where you live!"

I gulped. How did he know?

"Now, Akio. I know Tomoya isn't like all the others," Sanae said. "He was the one who surrounded Nagisa with so many wonderful friends."

"Yes mom. Okazaki was the one who introduced me to great people," Nagisa said. "And I thank him for that."

I looked at Nagisa who smiled to me. When she smiled, my lips form a smile on their own. It's contagious.

"You've made Nagisa very happy. You believed in her when others didn't. For instance, the Fuko incident," Sanae said.

"Wait, you guys know about Fuko? You know, her real self, her background story?" I said.

"I told them," Nagisa said. "They are my parents, so I had to tell them one day."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Akio began as he sat down, "Sanae and I didn't believe in our daughter when she told us. We thought it was the effects of the accident that was doing that to her brain, her imagining someone else who wasn't there."

"Yes. It had us worried because it would've affected Nagisa's social outcast because of that," Sanae said.

"But then you came along, kid," Akio said as he looked at me. "You were the first person to believe in here, to believe she...was telling the truth." He began to sob, and Sanae held onto his hand. "I wasn't crying."

"Of course not, dear," Sanae said.

Nagisa giggled. "But now that Fuko had made herself visible, they have no problem believing me anymore, and it's easier to explain Fuko now more than before. And it's all thanks to you, Okazaki, for only believing me and becoming my friend."

I looked at Nagisa's beautiful, young smiling face. She was so innocent, so full of life. She was my first true friend in a way. Then I noticed Akio and Sanae looking at me. Akio had the face of a protective tiger, ready to slash out his enemies or anyone who messes with his family. Sanae had th face of a motherly polar bear, the caretaker of all. They all were smiling at me, all happy that I did a very simple deed of friending their daughter. It was a very strange yet wonderful feeling. I wanted to stay here forever.

"Well, this talk made me hungry. How about I make some dinner for all of us? You wouldn't mind staying a little a bit longer, Tomoya?" Sanae said as she stood up.

"Sure. I can stay," I said.

"Splendid!"

Sanae walked over to the kitchen.

"I'll help you out, honey," Akio said as he followed Sanae, leaving only me and Nagisa.

We both smiled at each other, causing us to blush a bit until we heard the old man.

"Hey kid! If you do a move on my girl, I will kill you! Just to let you know!" Akio yelled from the kitchen.

* * *

"Thank you so much for the dinner. It was really good," I said.

"Aww! You're welcome, Tomoya," Sanae smiled.

She cooks way better than she bakes.

"Hey! I helped too!" Akio said, sticking a new cigarette into his mouth.

"Do you want me to say thank you or you cook well?" I said.

"Neither!"

I sweat dropped. Then why did he...I don't even know.

"Well, I'll be leaving now. Tell Fuko I said bye," I said as I began to walk towards the exit.

"Wait, Tomoya. How about some pastries?" Sanae said as she handed me a bag filled with good smelling bread.

"These are good, right?" I said.

"Why of course! What? You thought they weren't?" Sanae sniffed.

"No, no. I only-"

"Hey kid! Sanae handed you free bread so accept it with no complaints!" Akio interrupted me.

"I was just...oh never mind."

Then thunder was heard.

"Oh dear. It seems like it's raining hard outside," Sanae said.

"The boy can make it home just fine," Akio said.

"And get myself sick, right?" I said.

"Sure. He's a man. He can handle it."

I sighed.

"No, dad. Okazaki shouldn't get sick," Nagisa said as she walked away and came back with an umbrella. "Here, Okazaki. You can borrow my umbrella."

She handed the umbrella to me, and I grabbed it. "Thanks Nagisa."

"Nagisa, why are you so nice?" Akio said.

"Don't tease her, honey," Sanae said.

"You can return it tomorrow if you want," Nagisa said. "Because, you are coming tomorrow for the picnic, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I said I would hang out with you every Saturday right after work. Tomorrow is no exception," I said.

Nagisa smiled. That smile. Damn. So contagious and beautiful.

* * *

I just hoped this bread would still be as good as they were ten minutes ago. This rain was a bit chilly, and I know the bread wouldn't still be warm. The rain was bad, but Nagisa's umbrella didn't let me down. How can it? It was hers after all.

Once I reached my house, I saw Mr. Fawaya standing in front of my door with a large umbrella over him. I walked over to him and we talked for a while about how I was handling myself: the bills, food, comfort, etc. He was in a hurry though, so he gave me an envelop with money for my extra needs that not even my job could pay and left.

I entered my house and dried the umbrella. I placed the bag of bread on my table and was about to get my clothes to take a shower until the door knocked.

I wondered if Mr. Fawaya forgot to tell me something, so I hurried to the door and opened it...

"Tomoyo?!"

They grey haired girl was standing there, soaking wet.

* * *

**This has to be the longest chapter ever! I got tired of typing it out. Anyway, Tomoya was elected as president. Yay! But what is this? Le gasp! Tomoyo and Tomoya kissed? Oh my! It must've felt pretty weird to be with Nagisa right after that incident. I bet. I would be nervous around anyone myself. Well, please review and tell my what you think. Thank you. ^-^**


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